THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  ILLINOIS 

LIBRARY 


UBRMtY 


limn 

~8  ftPR  1915 


Illinois  State  Museum  of 
Natural  History 


GENERAL  GUIDE 


BY 


A.  R.  CROOK,  Ph.D.,  Curator 


August,  1914 
Springfield,  Illinois 


>  A 


ILLINOIS  STATE  JOURNAL  Co.,  STATE  PRINTERS. 
SPRINGFIELD,  ILL. 
1914. 


f  0   7 

OF  THE 

BMNmnviriii 

8  APR  1915 


MUSEUM  OP  NATUEAL  HISTOEY, 

STATE  OF  ILLINOIS, 

SPEIFGFIELD. 


BOAED  OF  TEUSTEES. 


EDWARD  F.  DUNNE,  LL.  D.,  Governor, 

LEWIS  G.  STEVENSON,  Secretary  of  State, 

FRANCIS  G.  BLAIE,  LL.  D.,  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction 


MUSEUM  STAFF. 


A.  E.  CROOK,  PH.  D.,  Curator, 

Miss  FANNIE  FISHER,  Assistant  Curator, 

EGBERT  TAYLOR,  Janitor. 


HOURS  OF  ADMISSION. 

WEEKDAYS,  9-12;  2-5. 
SATURDAYS,    9-12;  2-3. 

•297086 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Trustees  and   Staff    3 

Table  of  Contents    5 

List  of  Illustrations    7 

Preface    9 

Entrance    Hall    13 

Kayak    13 

Discoverers  of  North  and  South  Poles   13 

Mahogany   Canoe    13 

Ends  of  Earth  Represented   14 

Drill  Cores   14 

Geological  Section    16 

Antelope  Horns  from  Africa    18 

Virginia  Deer  Group    18 

Transparency  Groups    19 

Main   Museum   Room    20 

Fish   Skeletons    20 

Fishes    20 

Specimens  in  Alcohol  21 

Mammals  in  Wall  Case   21 

Skeletons  of  Mammals   30 

Ce'ntral  Mammal  Case  30 

Insect   Cases    33 

Relief  Map  of  Illinois    33 

Hornet's   Nests 34 

Mammal  Heads   34 

Exhibits  of  Fossils    34 

Tall  Floor  Cases  37 

Archaeological   Collections    37 

Muskrat  Group    37 

Owl    Cases    !58 

Giant  Crab   38 

Corals     38 

Eagles    38 

Bird  and  Mineral  Room    40 

Mineral  Exhibit    45 

Tree  Exhibit  in  Gallery    48 

Trees  of  Illinois  and  Other  States  50 

Facts  and  Fancies  Concerning  World  Making   54 

Index    .                                                                                                                         .  .  59 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

Plan  of  Museum  Rooms   11 

General  View  of  Corridor  12 

African  Antelope  Horns    17 

Primitive  Mammals  and  Two  Squirrels   22 

Fisher,  Sable,  Rabbits,  etc 24 

The    Rabbit    27 

Wood   Duck    41 

Woodpeckers,  Illinois   43 

Wild  Turkey   44 

Group  of  Carbonates  46 


PREFACE. 


This  volume  is  intended  to  serve  as  a  general  introduction  to  the 
collections  of  the  Illinois  State  Museum. 

The  work  of  preparing  it  has  involved  considerable  investigation 
since  although  the  museum  has  been  in  existence  for  sixty-three  years  and 
contains  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  specimens,  no  work  of  this  kind 
has  been  previously  attempted. 

Special  guides  for  the  serious  student  will  be  prepared  later  in  the 
departments  of  mineralogy,  palentology,  ornithology,  entomology  and 
archaeology,  and  the  hope  is  that  all  of  these  may  increase  the  usefulness 
of  the  collections  manyfold. 

A.  E.  CROOK. 

Springfield,  October  1,  1914. 


PL  AM 

OF  THE 

ILLINOIS  STATE  MUSEUM 


Entrance    from    the    Stair    Hall.       Objects    in    Corridor    viewed    first.       Cases    are 
numbered  in  same  order  as  in  the  text. 


.V", 


ILLINOIS  STATE  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY, 
GENERAL  GUIDE. 


August,    1914. 
ENTRANCE  HALL  OR  CORRIDOR. 

KAYAK. 

As  the  visitor  stands  at  the  entrance  of  the  main  hall,  he  may  see 
suspended  from  the  ceiling  on  the  right  an  Eskimo  kayak  from  Etah, 
Greenland  (No.  2145).  It  was  used  on  Peary's  first  North  Pole  Expe- 
dition and  brought  to  Springfield  by  Dr.  E.  E.  Vincent,  a  member  of  that 
expedition.  This  and  other  Eskimo  materials,  after  the  untimely  death 
of  Dr.  Vincent,  were  donated  to  the  museum  by  his  father  in  1901.  This 
kayak  is  18  feet  long,  18  inches  broad  at  the  widest  place  and  9  inches 
deep.  It  weighs  45  pounds.  It  is  made  by  stretching  seal  or  walrus 
skin  over  a  light  frame  and  is  decked  all  over,  leaving  only  a  circular 
opening  14  inches  across  in  the  center.  The  kayaker  sits  in  this  opening 
and  after  he  has  fastened  the  water  proof  sealskin  flap  around  him, 
makes  the  boat  water  tight.  Even  though  overturned  by  a  high  wave, 
the  boat  will  not  sink,  but  may  be  righted  again  with  the  double  bladed 
paddle.  The  ivory  buttons  fastened  on  leather  thongs  may  be  used  in 
tightening  the  canoe  like  a  drum,  in  attaching  strings  of  fish  or  recording 
distances  or  time.  The  canoe  used  by  the  women  is  called  umiak. 

DISCOVERERS  OP  THE  NORTH  AND  SOUTH  POLES. 

On  the  wall  underneath  the  kayak  are  pictures  of  the  three  men  who 
discovered  the  Poles — the  three  men  who  succeeded  in  doing  what  no  one 
else  in  hundreds  of  years  after  hundreds  of  attempts,  had  been  able 
to  do.  They  are  Peary,  Amundsen  and  Scott.  Their  names  will  live  as 
long  as  daring,  courage,  endurance  and  resourcefulness  are  admired  by 
mankind.  In  these  qualities  no  men  have  surpassed  them.  Their 
pictures  are  hung  beneath  the  kayak  since  this  canoe  was  used  by  Peary 
on  one  of  his  early  attempts  at  north  polar  exploration. 

FAMOUS  ANIMALS. 

Photograph  of  famous  animals  in  the  New  York  Zoological  Gardens 
are  shown  next  to  these  pictures. 

MAHOGANY  CANOE. 

No.  2153.  Suspended  on  the  ceiling  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  hall 
is  a  canoe  of  solid  mahogany  from  Honduras,  the  gift  of  Mr.  Chas.  Han- 
sel who  obtained  it  while  on  his  wedding  trip  in  Honduras  about  1890, 


14 

It  is  18  feet  fong,  30  inches  wide  and  12  inches  deep.  It  weighs  250 
pounds.  The  specific  gravity  of  mahogany  is  0.8.  When  one  compares 
it  with  white  pine  whose  specific  gravity  is  0.4  it  is  easy  to  understand 
the  great  weight  of  this  canoe.  The  wood  is  reddish  brown  in  color, 
straight  grained,  very  hard  and  takes  a  high  polish.  It  is  seldom 
figured,  but  often  develops  deep  "star  shakes."  It  is  somewhat  brittle  on 
drying.  It  requires  1,300  pounds  to  indent  it  one-twentieth  of  an  inch 
transversely  to  the  fibre.  Thus  the  Honduras  mahogany  is  not  as  hard 
as  that  of  Santa  Domingo,  which  can  sustain  a  stress  of  4,300  pounds. 
Commercially  it  is  known  as  "baywood,"  and  is  prized  by  cabinet  makers, 
turners  and  carpenters. 

ENDS  OF  THE  EAETH  EEPEESENTED. 

The  kayak  from  one  of  the  most  northerly  points  in  Greenland  and 
the  canoe  from  one  of  the  southernmost  countries  of  the  continent — 
places  5,000  miles  apart  as  the  duck  flies — may  be  symbolical  of  the  field 
covered  by  a  museum  wherein  the  ends  of  the  earth  are  literally  brought 
together.  Without  expense  of  time  and  money  such  as  would  be  involved 
in  thousands  of  miles  of  travel,  the  visitor  may  see  objects  from  distant 
mountains  and  remote  seas.  The  State  Museum  aims  primarily  to  repre- 
sent the  natural  history  of  the  State.  Its  purpose  is  to  collect  and  pre- 
serve the  typical  animals  and  plants,  the  characteristic  minerals  and 
rocks  and  illustration  of  the  types  of  men  and  the  implements  which 
show  the  manner  of  life  of  the  aborigines  in  the  State  of  Illinois.  As 
time  passes  these  collections  will  increase  in  number  and  value,  and  the 
museum  will  become  the  best  exponent  of  our  own  mineral  resources. 
But  as  "no  man  liveth  to  himself  and  no  man  dieth  to  himself,"  so  a 
State  museum  cannot  afford  to  exclude  exhibits  of  many  things  not 
native  to  the  State.  We  depend  not  only  upon  the  natural  products  of 
this  State,  but  upon  the  animals,  vegetation,  minerals  and  upon  the 
human  activities  of  other  states  and  countries.  Hence  gifts  of  materials 
representing  other  localities  are  gladly  received  and  purchases  are  some- 
times made  to  complete  synoptic  collections  and  to  show  things  foreign 
to  this  State.  We  use  many  minerals  not  mined  here — iron,  copper, 
tin,  silver  and  gold.  Our  industries  would  languish  if  we  could  not  use 
outside  raw  materials.  For  food,  and  raiment,  for  various  arts  and  man- 
ufacturies  we  look  elsewhere  for  material  to  work  up.  In  the  museum 
are  objects  from  all  continents,  from  the  Pacific  Islands,  from  the  arctic 
regions  and  even  from  other  worlds ! 

DEILL  COEES. 

Along  the  sides  of  the  walls  of  the  main  hall  are  several  series  of  dia- 
mond drill  cores.  A  diamond  drill  is  commonly  made  by  setting  in  one 
end  of  a  two  inch  pipe  on  the  outer  edge  eight  diamonds  and  on  the 
inner  edge  six  diamonds.  This  pipe  being  rapidly  revolved  while  held 
in  proper  position,  expeditiously  cuts  down  through  various  rock  strata. 
The  core  which  rises  on  the  inside  of  the  tube,  is  withdrawn  from  time 
to  time  by  means  of  an  open  collar  so  beveled  as  to  prevent  the  core  from 
slipping  out  from  the  lower  end  of  the  tube.  Thus  an  accurate  section 


15 

of  the  rock  penetrated  is  obtained.  These  cores  are  of  the  greatest  value 
in  showing  the  succession  of  formations  in  any  locality. 

No.  3904  shows  604  feet  of  the  strata  at  Divernon,  111.,  17  miles 
south  of  Springfield.  This  series  was  donated  to  the  museum  by  the 
Madison  Coal  Company  and  was  obtained  at  their  No.  6  Shaft.  Every 
foot  of  this  core  has  been  tested  to  ascertain  its  true  character.  The 
sketch  map  shows  the  locality  represented.  The  geological  formations 
penetrated  are  named  and  each  change  in  the  character  of  the  rock  is 
indicated  together  with  the  thickness  of  each  stratum  and  its  depth  below 
the  surface. 

The  first  40  feet  penetrated  was  loose  material  and  is  not  pre- 
served. It  consisted  of  the  characteristic  surface  soil  and  the  underlying 
glaciated  materials  which  are  in  nearly  all  portions  of  the  county.  There 
was  first  1  foot  of  black  soil  underlain  by  7  feet  of  sand  and  clay. 
Next  appeared  a  gravelly  layer  with  laminae  of  tough  clay,  "hard- 
pan,"  5  feet  in  thickness.  Below  this,  6  feet  of  blue  clay  was  en- 
countered. This  in  turn  was  underlain  by  11  feet  of  blue  clay  through 
which  rather  large  boulders  were  scattered.  Altogether  40  feet  of  sands, 
clays  and  gravels  were  passed  through  before  reaching  stratified  rock. 

At  a  depth  of  40  feet  a  fragmental  limestone  which  is  completely 
soluble  in  hydrochloric  acid  was  encountered  and  proved  to  be  5  feet 
in  thickness.  The  complete  log  is  published  in  our  museum  report  for 
1909,  p.  314. 

In  general,  it  may  be  observed  that  the  prevailing  strata  are  alter- 
nating limestone,  shale,  coal  and  sandstone  layers.  It  is  somewhat  sur- 
prising to  note  that  out  of  the  total  of  600  feet  of  rock  there  was 
encountered  only  22  feet  of  pure  limestone  and  but  36  more  of  impure 
limestone — a  total  of  only  58  feet  of  any  kind  of  limestone.  There  was 
more  sandstone.  It  amounts  altogether  to  103  feet.  The  great  bulk 
of  the  rock,  however,  is  shale.  Three  hundred  and  seventy-four  feet  of 
pure  shale  is  represented.  The  shales  present  great  variety.  Some  are 
bituminous,  others  micaceous,  some  calcareous,  others  arenaceous.  They 
vary  in  hardness.  Some  resist  solution;  others  have  consistency  little 
superior  to  mud.  They  are  black,  blue,  green,  brown,  red. 

Coal  is  encountered  in  five  different  places  varying  from  2  inches 
to  7  feet  11  inches  in  thickness.  Its  total  thickness  is  greater  than  that 
of  pure  limestone,  being  25  feet. 

All  of  these  rocks  are  found  in  the  Upper  and  Lower  Productive 
divisions  of  the  Pennsylvanian  formation  (called  the  Pennsylvanian 
since  it  is  so  well  developed  in  Pennsylvania).  All  of  the  greatest  coal 
deposits  of  the  U.  S.  are  found  in  the  Pennsylvanian.  Possibly  the 
upper  130  to  150  feet  belong  to  the  Upper  Productive  (Conemaugh  in 
Pennsylvania),  while  the  underlying  strata  are  in  the  Lower  Productive 
(Alleghany  in  Pennsylvania). 

In  Sangamon  County  the  Upper  Productive  attains  a  thickness  of 
about  200  feet  and  the  Lower  Productive  a  thickness  of  300.  Below 
the  latter  lies  a  bed  of  sandstone  which  is  more  than  100  feet  in  thick- 
ness. It  is  in  the  bottom  of  the  Pennsylvanian,  and  is  called  the  Mans- 
field Sandstone.  The  last  50  or  more  feet  of  this  core  was  possibly  in 
this  formation, 


16 


No.  3905  represents  260  feet  of  the  strata  just  northwest  of  Spring- 
field underlying  a  farm  owned  by  Mr.  DeWitt  Smith.  The  core  was 
donated  by  Mr.  Smith  and  furnishes  the  best  example  in  the  museum  of 
the  actual  thickness  of  what  is  known  as  the  "No.  5"  bed  of  coal. 

No.  2906  represents  900  feet  of  strata  underlying  Braidwood.  The 
formation  penetrated  are  the  Niagara  limestone,  Cincinnati,  Trenton- 
Galena,  and  St.  Peters  sandstone.  This  core  was  obtained  in  boring 
for  a  well,  there  being  no  coal  in  the  formations  penetrated. 

No.  3907  represents  720  feet  of  strata  underlying  Pana,  111.  No. 
attempt  has  been  made  in  this  case  to  preserve  more  than  a  sample  of 
the  various  strata,  all  of  which  are  in  the  Carboniferous  system.  The 
major  part  of  the  core  represents  the  Pennsylvanian  and  but  a  small 
portion  is  in  the  Mississippian  underlying. 

No.  3908.  Material  composing  Monk's  or  Cahokia  Mound,  Madison 
County,  Illinois.  This  mound,  which  lies  about  3  miles  east  of  East 
St.  Louis,  is  the  largest  and  best  known  of  a  group  of  more  than  50 
mounds  lying  in  what  is  called  the  great  American  Bottom.  The  Indians 
used  these  mounds  as  burial  places,  as  signal  stations  and  in  other  ways, 
just  as  white  men  would  under  similar  conditions.  The  surrounding 
country  was  more  often  flooded  then  than  now  since  there  was  no  artifi- 
cial drainage  and  these  mounds  furnished  safe  burial  places.  The  largest 
of  this  group  is  interesting  historically,  is  picturesque  and  so  situated 
that  it  would  form  an  attractive  State  Park.  The  samples  of  the  soil 
composing  it  were  taken  from  25  holes  sunk  on  the  northern  and  most 
abrupt  slope  and  well  show  the  alluvial  character  of  the  deposits  com- 
posing the  mound.  Their  acquisition  was  made  possible  by  the  courtesy 
of  the  Barney  heirs  who  own  the  mound  and  several  hundred  acres 
surrounding  it. 

GENERALIZED   GEOLOGICAL  SECTION   OF  ILLINOIS. 


Systems. 

Series. 

Rocks. 

Thickness. 

1  foot. 
8  feet. 
15  feet. 
16  feet. 

200  feet. 

300  feet. 
150  feet. 

120  feet. 
100  feet. 
200  feet. 
100  feet. 
160  feet. 
200  feet. 
100  feet. 

Pleistocene  or  Glacial  
Pennsylvanian  

Mississippian  

I 

fl 

E 

O-O 

Ones 
St.  G 
St.  L 
Sfller 

McLeansboro  
Carbondale  

f  Loess  

{  Illinoian  till  
I  Kansas  till 

Shales,  limestones,  (coal  un- 
important)   

Coals  numbers  2  to  6,  lime- 
stone, shale,  sandstone  

Mansfield  (Potsville)... 
,er  

\  Limestone  

] 

enevieve  

a  

Limestone  

Shale  and  limestone  

Devonian  

Keoi 
Burl 
Kind 

uk  (Warsaw)  

erhook  

Limestone,  shale  
Shale  and  limestone  

Silurian 

Niag 
Tren 
St.  P 
Low 
Pots 

ira 

Ordovician  j 
Cambrian 

ton-Galena  
eter  

Dolomite  
Sandstone  

lam 

17 

Older  rocks  than  the  Potsdam  are  not  found  in  the  State  of  Illinois. 
Noticeable  is  the  absence  of  the  newer  rocks  which  are  found  in  many 
parts  of  the  world.  After  the  Pennsylvanian  period  long  eras  passed  dur- 
ing which  the  rocks  of  succeeding  periods  were  formed.  Named  in  order 
beginning  with  the  oldest  they  are :  the  Permian,  Triassic,  Jurassic,  Co- 
manchean,  Cretaceous,  Eocene,  Miocene  and  Pliocene.  The  constructive 


Horns  of  African  Antelope  donated  by  ex-President  Theodore  Roosevelt. 

agencies  which  recorded  the  passing  of  the  millenniums  involved  in  those 
periods,  were  as  active  and  extended  as  the  agencies  whose  work  has  been 
recorded  in  the  rock  strata  underlying  the  prairies  of  Sangamon  County. 
— 2  S  M 


18 

ANTELOPE  HORNS  FROM  AFRICA.     OVER  CASE  1. 

Nos.  846-851.  Between  the  two  doors  on  the  left  are  six  pairs  of 
antelope  horns  obtained  by  Ex-President  Theodore  Roosevelt  in  East 
Africa  while  on  his  expedition  which  yielded  such  rich  results  for  the 
Smithsonian  Institution.  He  presented  them  to  this  museum  in  1910. 
There  are  two  pairs  each  of  the  eland,  hartebeest,  and  oryx.  The  eland 
is  one  of  the  largest  of  all  antelopes,  comparing  somewhat  with  the 
American  buffalo  in  size  and  weight.  The  horns  measure  24  inches  in 
length  and  4%  inches  in  diameter  at  the  base.  The  hartebeest  is  some- 
what smaller,  resembling  a  cow  in  size.  The  horns  are  20  inches  in 
length,  but  seem  shorter  because  of  the  double  curve.  The  oryx  is  the 
smallest  antelope  of  the  three,  being  about  as  large  as  a  donkey,  but  its 
horns  are  38  inches  long— often  as  long  as  the  animal  itself.  It  is  the 
fabled  "unicorn"  of  the  rhyme,  "The  lion  and  the  unicorn  fighting  for 
a  crown,  Up  jumped  the  unicorn  and  knocked  the  lion  down,"  etc.,  and 
represented  on  the  British  coat-of-arms.  The  horns  are  so  nearly  paral- 
lel as  to  seem  to  be  one  to  an  observer  some  distance  away  at  the  side, 
and  this  gave  rise  to  the  mistake. 

Below  these  horns  is  the  skull  of  a  rhinoceros,  the  gift  of  Julius 
Friesser,  No.  852. 

VIRGINIA   DEER    GROUP.     CASE    2. 

No.  887.  At  the  end  of  the  hall  is  the  chief  group  in  the  museum. 
It  consists  of  three  Virginia  or  American  Red  Deer  in  an  Illinois  forest 
in  winter.  The  buck,  doe  and  fawn  composing  the  group  were  selected 
from  47  specimens  obtained  during  the  hunting  season  at  Menominee, 
Wis.,  four  years  ago.  The  large  number  to  select  from  made  it  possible 
to  obtain  fine  specimens.  Clay  models  were  prepared  after  accurate 
measurements  of  the  bodies.  The  hides  were  removed  in  a  skillful  man- 
ner without  splitting  the  skin  on  the  legs,  in  order  that  in  later  years 
when  the  skins  dry  and  stiffen  the  stitches  may  not  show.  The  hides 
were  swabbed  with  sulphuric  acid  and  scraped  down  to  proper  thickness. 
Then  butter  was  rubbed  in;  the  skins  were  put  in  a  barrel  and  kneaded 
for  an  hour  or  more  by  a  barefooted  man  until  they  became  as  soft  as  a 
glove.  They  were  well  poisoned  to  keep  out  insects.  A  manikin  was 
built  out  of  band  iron,  thick' wire  and  wire  cloth  covered  with  plaster  of 
paris.  It  is  so  light  that  one  could  easily  lift  it  and  so  strong  that  it 
could  hold  many  pounds.  Upon  it  the  skin  were  stretched  and  the  result 
is  a  permanent  and  lifelike  group.  A  rabbit  crouches  behind  a  rock. 
Chickadees  in  a  tree,  one  of  them  running  upside  down  as  chickadees  are 
fond  of  doing,  are  hunting  insects.  A  bluejay,  who  has  not  yet  been 
driven  south  by  the  early  snowfall,  pecks  at  an  acorn.  The  large  tree 
in  the  center  is  a  wild  cherry  from  Camp  Lincoln,  Springfield.  The 
oak,  hazel  and  other  trees  and  bushes  were  all  gathered  within  a  few 
feet  of  each  other  so  as  to  show  correct  ecological  relations.  The  snow 
is  made  of  plaster  of  Paris  covered  with  sugar  and  pulverized  glass. 
Several  pounds  of  arsenic  were  added  to  discourage  insects  or  mice  that 
might  take  a  fancy  to  the  sugar.  The  group  was  made  by  Julius  Friesser, 
Chief  Taxidermist  at  the  Field  Museum,  and  three  assistants. 


19 

The  background  is  formed  by  an  oil  painting  by  Charles  A.  Corwin 
representing  an  open  Illinois  forest  in  winter.  Deer  tracks  lead  back 
along  a  path  among  shell  bark  hickories,  various  oaks  and  bushes  into 
the  deepening  forest  over  the  snow,  under  lowering  winter  skies.  A 
deserted  bird's  nest  is  high  in  the  fork  of  a  tree.  The  picture  adds  to 
the  story  told  in  the  foreground. 

It  is  winter  in  deer  land.  The  trees  have  lost  their  leaves.  The 
earth  is  robed  in  white.  The  coats  of  the  deer,  which  were  red  in  sum- 
mer, have  changed  to  yellowish  grey  with  white  spots  beneath  that  seem 
like  reflections  of  the  snow.  No  longer  can  the  deer  feed  upon  water 
lilies  and  other  plants  in  the  lakes,  nor  upon  grass  and  fresh  leaves,  but 
must  content  themselves  with  twigs,  berries  and  such  lichens  as  are  not 
too  deeply  buried.  The  terrible  battles  which  in  the  autumn  the  bucks 
waged  with  each  other,  their  horns  often  becoming  so  interlocked  that 
both  combatants  miserably  perished  from  starvation,  have  ceased.  The 
bucks  still  retain  their  horns  for  defense  against  other  foes  and  still 
display  much  of  the  haughty  carriage  so  characteristic  of  the  autumn 
days.  Both  buck  and  fawn  are  in  fine  condition.  When  alarmed  they 
flee  with  marvelous  bounds  at  wonderful  speed.  But  alas  their  agility 
has  not  enabled  them  to  escape  extermination  from  the  fields  and  forests 
of  Illinois. 

TRANSPARENCY  GROUPS.  CASES  3  AND  4. 

In  the  alcove  on  the  right  of  the  hall  are  two  groups  of  birds,  cat- 
birds and  bluejays  (Nos.  810,  811)  in  their  natural  surroundings.  The 
birds,  nests,  eggs,  the  trees  in  which  the  nests  were  found,  and  a  photo- 
graph of  the  locality  where  the  trees  stood,  enlarged  and  colored  on  a 
ground  glass  transparency,  give  an  accurate  representation  of  the  birds 
and  their  surroundings.  The  photographs  were  taken  on  the  property 
of  Mr.  H.  N.  Higginbotham  at  Joliet.  Four  other  similar  groups  are 
to  be  seen  in  Room  23. 


MAIN  MUSEUM  ROOM. 


FISH    SKELETONS.     CASES    5    AND    G. 

Entering  the  main  room  by  the  northeast  door  at  the  left  one  sees 
a  case  containing  the  following  fish  skeletons:  flounder  No.  9,  pike 
No.  8,  white  bass  No.  14,  black  crappie  No.  15,  large-mouthed  black 
bass  No.  16,  blue  sunfish  No.  12,  wall-eyed  pike  No.  4,  chuckle  headed 
cat  No.  13,  sucker  No.  5,  American  eel  No.  10,  toothed  herring  No.  8, 
dog  fish  No.  7,  and  in  the  next  case  cod  No.  3,  eel  pout  No.  11,  mud 
puppy  No.  505,  tiger  salamander  No.  510,  bull  frog  No.  507,  toad  No. 
509,  and  a  stuffed  specimen  of  a  3-year-old  alligator  No.  702. 


FISHES.     CASES    7,    8,    AND    9. 

Turning  to  the  right  one  sees  three  cases  of  Illinois  fishes.  Starting 
with  the  most  primitive  of  the  fishes  the  arrangement  proceeds  to  those 
more  highly  organized  and  more  perfect  among  their  kind.  Forty  Illi- 
nois fish  and  a  tarpon  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  are  displayed.  At  the 
bottom  of  the  group  is  the  cartilaginous  paddle  fish  No.  1,  which  is  yet 
found  in  the  Wabash  River.  Above  it  is  the  sturgeon  No.  2,  a  fairly 
good  fish  not  prized  as  highly,  however,  in  our  State  as  it  is  in  Russia, 
where  millions  of  sturgeon  furnish  not  only  meat  but  enormous  quanti- 
ties of  the  eggs  that  are  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  the  famous 
Russian  caviar.  Next  come  the  gars,  the  long  nosed  Nos.  3  and  4,  the 
short  nosed  No.  5,  and  the  alligator  gave  No.  6,  predaceous  fish  of  no  value 
but  rather  a  destructive  lot.  Superior  to  them  in  structure  and  utility 
are  the  dog  fish  No.  7  and  the  toothed  herring  No.  8,  which,  however, 
do  not  come  in  the  same  desirable  class  as  the  excellent  white  fish  No.  9 
of  our  lakes,  the  lake  herring  No.  10,  and  the  lake  trout  No.  11,  all  of 
which  have  been  found  in  great  abundance  in  our  waters.  Next  are 
exhibited  the  buffalo,  so  called  because  of  their  heavy,  buffalo-like  build — 
the  red-mouthed  and  the  mongrel  buffalo  Nos.  12,  13,  and  14.  Follow- 
ing these  are  shown  the  river  carp  No.  15;  the  quill  back  No.  16;  the 
common  sucker  No.  17,  which  gave  to  Illinois  its  nickname;  the  redhorse 
Nos.  18  and  19,  which  grows  larger  in  the  lakes  than  it  does  in  the 
rivers;  and  the  prolific  German  carp  No.  20,  with  which  small  ponds 
throughout  the  State  have  been  so  successfully  stocked.  Two  fine  sam- 
ples of  this  carp  have  just  been  secured — one  stuffed  specimen  and  the 
other  an  unusually  attractive  cast.  Finally,  at  the  top  of  the  case,  is 
placed  a  fish  not  found  in  Illinois,  the  tarpon.  It  is  an  ocean  fish.  This 
example  was  caught  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Because  of  its  size,  strength, 
and  agility,  the  capture  of  one  of  these  fish  is  an  exciting  affair. 


21 

In  the  next  case  are  exhibited  various  kinds  of  cat  fish,  the,,  most 
abundant  and  valuable  fish  in  the  State  as  a  source  of  food  supply— the 
blue  or  chuckle  headed  cat  Nos.  21  and  22;  the  channel  cat  Np.  %$; 
the  bull  head  No.  24,  the  small  boy's  friend,  since  so  numerous  and  so 
easy  to  catch;  and  the  mud  cat  No.  25.  Then  come  the  pike  No.  26; 
the  white  crappie  No.  27;  the  rock  bass  No.  28;  the  blue  gill  sunfish 
No.  29,  and  the  black  bass  No.  30;  in  the  next  case  is  the  wall-eyed  pike 
No.  31;  the  grey  pike  No.  32;  the  yellow  perch  Nos.  33  and  34;  the 
white  bass  No.  35 ;  the  yellow  bass  No.  36,  and  the  sheepshead  No.  37. 

All  of  the  above  except  Nos.  3,  4,  6,  and  20,  which  are  stuffed 
skins,  are  plaster  casts.  They  furnish  the  most  satisfactory  exhibits, 
since  they  do  not  crack  or  shrivel.  They  retain  their  shape  and  appear- 
ance unchanged.  For  example  No.  23  the  channel  cat  was  prepared  at 
the  State  Laboratory  of  Natural  History  under  the  direction  of  Prof. 
S.  A.  Forbes  in  1878.  It  is  the  original  for  half  tones  used  in  many 
text  books  on  fish. 

There  are  about  1,000  different  varieties  of  fish  in  Illinois,  but  the 
above  list  contains  the  most  important  kinds.  They  represent  the  varie- 
ties which  last  year  in  this  State  furnished  about  $800,000  worth  of 
fish  food. 

ALCOHOLIC    SPECIMENS.     CASE    11. 

The  next  case  contains  alcoholic  specimens  of  fish  and  reptiles,  three 
snouts  of  saw  fish,  the  largest  and  the  smallest  Nos.  854  and  855,  given 
by  Bishop  E.  W.  Osborne,  who  obtained  them  at  Trinidad,  W.  I.,  and 
the  medium  sized  No.  712  given  by  Mr.  James  Johnson;  the  eye  balls 
and  sword  of  a  sword  fish  No.  713  caught  near  the  Maine  coast;  the  tail 
of  whip  ray  No.  644,  the  gift  of  Mr.  Charles  D.  Arnold,  and  the  tail 
of  a  sting  ray  No.  711,  the  gift  of  Mr.  G.  L.  Eastman,  both  from  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  off  the. coast  of  Florida. 

Among  the  specimens  preserved  in  alcohol  are  various  fish  such  as 
the  common  eel  No.  717;  the  dog  shark  No.  715;  the  devil  fish  No.  695; 
such  turtles  as  the  yellow-bellied  terrapin  No.  707,.  leather  turtle  No. 
703,  soft-shelled  turtle  No.  704,  Blandings  tortoise  No.  708,  etc. 

REPTILES.     CASE    13. 

Between  the  windows  is  a  case  containing  various  snakes :  Diamond- 
backed  rattlers  Nos.  605,  719,  720,  721,  black  snake  No.  733,  pilot 
snake  No.  734,  pine  snake  Nos.  724  and  725,  water  adder  No.  726, 
massasauga  No.  732,  harlequin  snake  No.  723,  garter  snake  No.  728, 
Hoyt's  garter  snake  No.  727,  Kenncott's  chain  snake  No.  735.  There 
is  also  a  chamaeleon  No.  736,  a  centipede  No.  69.:7,  and  a  tarantula 
No.  543. 

MAMMALS    IN    WALL    CASE.     CASE    12. 

Between  the  two  cases  of  specimens  preserved  in  alcohol  is  a  large 
wall  case  containing  in  the  upper  portion  a  series  of  mammals  arranged 
in  the  order  of  their  development  beginning  with  the  most  primitive  and 
proceeding  to  the  higher  representatives. 


First,  at  the  lower  left  hand  corner  is  a  duck  mole  No.  485  from 
It  may  he  regarded  as  one  of  the  missing  links  between  birds 
and  mammals,  since  it  has  webbed  feet  and  the  bill-like  snout  character- 
v     Ndstkxof  a  duck,  but  the  tail  of  a  beaver  and  the  body  of  a  rat.     It  lays 
eggs  like  a  bird  (oviparous)  and  is  yet  classed  as  a  mammal. 


Primitive  Mammal  and  two  Squirrels.     Case  12. 

The  first  duck  mole  brought  from  Australia  was  considered  a  fake 
and  it  was  some  time  before  people  could  be  convinced  that  the  bill  and 
feet  were  not  glued  on. 

Its  habits  are  those  of  the  duck  and  of  the  muskrat.  It  digs  a 
burrow  in  the  bank  of  slow  streams  or  ponds,  with  an  opening  below 


23 

and  one  above  the  water.  These  burrows  are  often  50  feet  long.  It 
eats  grubs,  worms,  snails,  clams,  and  vegetation.  It  is  difficult  to  catch, 
being  a  good  diver  and  swimmer  and  having  acute  sight  and  hearing. 

Next  to  the  duck  mole  comes  the  armadillo  No.  479  from  Mexico. 
This  curiously  helmeted  and  cuirrassed  animal  is  abundant  in  Texas 
and  the  country  south  as  far  as  Paraguay.  All  portions  of  the  body 
save  the  breast  and  abdomen  is  covered  with  a  hard  shell  composed  of 
small  plates  cunningly  jointed  together.  When  attacked  by  a  savage 
animal  the  armadillo  rolls  itself  into  a  ball  and  is  then  safe  from  most 
of  its  enemies.  It  feeds  upon  worms,  ants,  snails,  beetles,  small  lizards, 
etc.  It  in  turn  furnishes  food  to  the  men  in  its  part  of  the  world.  Its 
flesh  is  said  to  be  palatable. 

The  great  anteater  No.  484  from  South  America  is  to  our  notion 
one  of  the  most  ungainly  of  animals.  The  hair  is  long  and  coarse,  espe- 
cially on  the  tail.  The  face  ends  in  a  proboscis,  at  the  lower  end  of 
which  is  placed  a  mouth  so  small  that  objects  much  larger  than  ants 
could  with  difficulty  be  taken  in.  Its  long,  powerful  claws  enable  it  to 
readily  tear  open  ant  hills  and  its  slender  tongue  can  be  thrust  out  9 
inches  to  lick  up  the  ants. 

Alston's  opossum  No.  844,  found  alive  in  a  nest  with  five  young  in 
a  bunch  of  bananas  from  Honduras  in  Springfield,  1912,  was  presented 
by  Mr.  H.  M.  Gates.  It  looks  like  a  rat,  but  is  a  marsupial,  since,  like 
the  kangaroo  and  ordinary  opossum,  it  has  a  pouch  in  which  is  situated 
the  nursing  gland.  Its  long,  prehensile  tail  enables  it  to  hang  from  a 
limb. 

The  flying  phalanger  No.  492  from  New  South  Wales  is  several 
steps  higher  in  the  scale  of  development.  Its  long,  bushy  tail  and  the 
rounded  furry  membrane  stretching  from  the  front  to  the  hind  feet 
enable  it  to  sail  through  the  air  when  jumping  from  a  higher  to  a  lower 
tree  and  gives  it  the  appearance  of  flying.  It  is  a  "marsupial,"  just  as 
are  the  kangaroos  and  opossums,  in  all  of  which  the  female  has  a  large, 
flexible  pouch,  in  which  she  nurses  her  young  and  carries  them  around 
until  they  are  large  enough  to  care  for  themselves. 

The  rock  squirrel  or  Colorado  chipmunk  No.  519  was  obtained  in 
the  West  by  Major  J.  W.  Powell  and  given  to  this  museum  more  than 
30  years  ago.  The  chipmunk  is  a  kind  of  small  squirrel  which  lives 
upon  the  ground.  If  it  lives  among  the  rocks  it  is  called  a  "rock 
squirrel/'  If  it  lives  in  the  ground  it  is  called  a  "ground  squirrel"  or 
"sphermophile."  Sphermophile  means  "lover  of  seeds."  This  rock 
squirrel  is  graceful  in  form  and  beautiful  in  color  markings. 

Rock  squirrels  and  the  ground  squirrels  or  sphermophiles  which  are 
so  abundant  in  Illinois,  lay  up  great  quantities  of  wheat,  corn  or  other 
grain.  The  ground  squirrels  burrow  deeply  in  the  soil  in  open  country 
where  they  can  look  in  all  directions.  They  avoid  even  tall  grass  or 
grain  since  they  enjoy  an  unobstructed  view.  Their  cheek  pouches  en- 
able them  to  carry  out  great  quantities  of  dirt  and  to  carry  in  large  stores 
of  grain  for  the  winter.  They  eat  insects  also.  The  13  striped  ground 
squirrel  is  the  most  abundant  in  Illinois.  These  animals  dig  very 
extensive  burrows,  the  hole  about  2  inches  in  diameter  extending  steeply 
at  first  until  below  frost  line  and  then  veering  off  in  a  horizontal  course. 


Fisher,    Sable,   Rabbits,  etc.     Case   12. 


It  enlarges  in  places  into  rooms  in  which  the  animal  hibernates  during 
the  winter. 

The  prairie  dog  No.  493  from  New  Mexico,  is  another  burrowing 
rodent  and  one  of  the  best  known  through  the  western  states  from  Mexico 


25 

to  Canada.  Millions  of  prairie  dogs  are  to  be  found  in  Kansas,  Nebraska, 
Wyoming  and  Montana.  The  largest  "Prairie  Dog"  town  known  covers 
a  strip  of  country  from  1  to  5  miles  in  width  for  a  100  miles,  from 
Trego  County,  Kansas  to  Colorado.  Its  inhabitants  probably  number 
1,000,000.  They  are  vegetable  feeders  and  by  eating  up  all  grass  and 
most  shrubs  and  by  heaping  up  mounds  of  dirt  around  their  holes  they 
become  a  scourge  and  convert  the  country  which  they  invade  into  a 
dreary  waste.  Consequently  cattle  men  and  ranch  men  endeavor  to 
exterminate  them  by  placing  poisoned  grain  near  their  holes.  When  not 
too  numerous  they  are  amusing,  attractive  little  animals,  raising  them- 
selves to  their  full  height  when  an  enemy  such  as  a  dog  or  coyote  ap- 
proaches and  giving  a  series  of  short  barks,  then  darting  for  their  holes. 
If  there  is  time  they  sit  near  the  holes  and  seemingly  dare  the  enemy 
to  catch  them.  At  the  last  moment  they  dash  with  lightning  rapidity 
out  of  sight.  But  after  being  a  few  feet  down  in  the  hole,  they  may 
often  be  heard  barking. 

A  number  of  tree  squirrels  are  exhibited  next:  Two  grey  squirrels 
Nos.  512  and  879;  a  black  squirrel  No.  871  from  Montreal,  Canada;  a 
fox  squirrel  No.  511,  and  two  albinos,  No.  529  from  Morgan  County, 
Illinois,  the  gift  of  George  C.  Hickox,  and  No.  679  from  Warsaw,  111.; 
a  flying  squirrel  No.  518  from  Warsaw,  111. 

Squirrels  are  among  our  most  graceful  animals.  They  add  life  and 
cheerfulness  to  our  forests  and  even  to  city  parks  as  they  skip  about 
searching  for  nuts  and  roots  or  playing  with  each  other.  The  grey 
squirrel  is  the  most  common.  It  varies  greatly  in  color,  from  a  beautiful 
grey  through  reddish  brown,  black  to  white — when  it  is  called  an  albino. 
The  southern  fox  squirrel  is  the  only  squirrel  which  always  has  a  pure 
white  nose  and  ears.  It  may  be  brownish  or  black  but  the  nose  and  ears 
are  always  white.  The  flying  squirrel  is  one  of  the  most  exquisite  mam- 
mals in  the  country.  It  is  covered  with  silky  fur.  A  soft,  furry 
membrane,  stretching  from  front  to  hind  legs,  enable  it  to  sail  downward 
from  a  tree  top.  During  the  daytime  these  squirrels  are  often  rolled  up 
like  a  ball,  but  come  out  to  play  in  the  evening. 

The  woodchuck  or  "ground  hog"  No.  513  is  a  celebrity.,  but,  like 
many  a  celebrity,  does  not  deserve  his  fame  since  it  is  founded  on 
fallacy.  It  has  for  centuries  been  said  of  him  that  if  he  conies  out  of 
his  hole  on  the  2d  of  February  and  sees  his  shadow  there  will  be  six 
weeks  more  of  winter.  The  fact  is  he  is  as  unreliable  as  any  other 
weather  prophet  whose  knowledge  is  not  founded  on  accurate  measure- 
ment. However,  he  does  hibernate,  going  into  his  deep  hole  in  October 
or  November,  depending  upon  the  locality  and  the  condition  of  the 
weather.  He  comes  out  sometime  in  the  spring  without  regard  to  the 
Gregorian  calendar.  If  the  weather  is  propitious  or  his  supply  of  food 
exhausted,  he  begins  to  forage  for  food.  While  hibernating  he  is  very 
sluggish.  His  breathing  cannot  be  detected.  His  heart  action  is  ex- 
tremely slow.  If  a  limb  is  amputated  it  bleeds  very  slowly.  Hibernation 
is  the  next  door  from  death.  During  the  summer  the  woodchuck  eats 
grass,  clover  and  similar  vegetation,  but  does  not  take  the  farmer's 
grain  or  vegetables  as  do  the  rock  squirrels  and  ground  squirrels.  His 
favorite  home  is  a  deep  hole  in  a  gravelly  hillside  or  in  an  open  woods. 


26 

He  is  found  all  the  way  from  the  Atlantic  north  of  the  latitude  of 
North  Carolina  and  Tennessee  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

A  muskrat  No.  489  from  Anna,  111.,  is  shown  next.  His  pronounced 
musky  odor  gives  him  his  name.  He  has  a  long,  laterally  compressed 
tail  which  serves  both  as  a  rudder  and  as  a  propeller  and  enables  the 
animal  to  swim  with  great  rapidity.  His  little  feet  are  but  slightly 
webbed  and  are  not  serviceable  in  swimming.  Muskrats  are  great 
feeders  and  famous  builders.  The  hole  by  which  they  enter  their  huts 
is  so  deep  in  the  water  that  there  is  usually  little  danger  of  its  being 
closed  by  ice,  and  the  floor  of  the  huts  is  high  enough  to  insure  a  dry 
nest.  The  food  of  these  rats  consists  chiefly  of  vegetation,  such  as  lily 
pad  roots,  but  insects  and  other  small  animals  furnish  food  also.  The 
case  in  the  center  of  the  room  shows  the  life  habits  and  association  of 
the  muskrat. 

The  sewellel  No.  516  from  Oregon  (also  called  the  mountain 
beaver)  is  a  cross  between  a  muskrat  and  a  beaver.  It  has  a  shorter 
tail  than  a  muskrat  and  is  broadly  built  like  the  beaver.  It  is  semi- 
aquatic,  preferring  to  live  near  the  water.  It  feeds  chiefly  on  vegetation. 
Its  home  is  in  the  western  states. 

Two  grey  rabbits  or  cotton-tails  (No.  498,  Anna,  111.,  and  No.  500, 
locality  unknown)  represent  the  wild  animal  most  often  seen  and  most 
widely  known  in  this  State,  and,  for  that  matter,  through  all  the  country 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Rabbits  are  remarkably 
prolific,  having  three  litters  a  year,  and  unless  kept  in  check  by  car- 
niverous  animals,  birds,  and  man,  become  a  scourge,  as  they  have  in 
Australia,  where  it  has  proven  almost  impossible  to  keep  them  from 
overruning  great  stretches  of  country,  stripping  off  all  vegetation.  Rab- 
bits eat  berries,  grass,  leaves,  twigs,  and  soft  bark.  They  nest  under 
roots  of  trees,  in  shallow  burrows  or  among  rocks.  They  are  found  not 
only  in  wild  sections  of  the  country,  but  in  cultivated  fields  and  even 
city  parks. 

The  jack  rabbit  or  jack  hare  No.  501  from  western  Iowa  is  an 
animal  as  characteristic  of  the  western  states  as  the  grey  rabbit  is  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley  states  and  those  farther  east.  The  jack  rabbit 
lives  in  a  nest  in  a  clump  of  leaves  or  bushes.  For  protection  he  relies 
upon  his  coloration,  his  keen  hearing,  and  his  wonderful  speed.  When 
approached,  he  lies  close,  hoping  to  escape  detection,  but  if  the  intruder 
approaches  almost  near  enough  to  touch  him,  he  springs  up  suddenly 
and  darts  away  with  lightening  like  rapidity,  seemingly  touching  the 
earth  with  only  the  tips  of  his  toes  and  doubling  up  like  a  jack  knife. 
It  is  an  interesting  sight  to  see  him  springing  away,  running  for  miles 
nearly  as  fast  as  a  grey  hound  and  finally  losing  himself  among  rocks 
or  in  underbrush. 

The  pocket  gopher  No.  485  is  one  of  the  most  important  repre- 
sentatives of  burrowing  rodents  in  this  State.  He  is  a  remarkable  digger. 
Thanks  to  his  strong  claws  and  the  large  pouches  in  which  he  can  carry 
out  extra  large  quantities  of  dirt,  he  can  dig  faster  than  a  man  can 
pursue  him  with  a  spade.  He  spoils  meadows  with  innumerable  hillocks. 
He  is  a  voraceous  feeder  and  is  noted  for  his  swinnish  appetite.  He 
carries  into  his  underground  home  in  his  capaceous  pouches  great  quan- 


27 

titles  of  corn,  wheat,  potatoes,  etc.  With  incisors  that  are  as  strong  and 
sharp  as  a  steel  chisel  he  pares  off  all  the  roots  of  a  tree  as  readily  as  a 
man  pares  an  apple.  In  a  short  time  if  left  undisturbed  he  will  destroy 
large  numbers  of  fruit  trees.  Consequently  he  is  hated  by  the  farmers. 


The  Rabbit  in  Case   2. 


The  common  mole  No.  514  and  the  silver  mole  No.  878  are  known 
to  nearly  every  man  who  has  a  lawn  to  care  for  since  they  are  so  fond  of 
burrowing  under  sod  in  quest  of  worms  and  for  the  purpose  of  enlarging 
their  underground  cities.  They  are  powerful  diggers.  Hornaday  placed 
a  mole  in  a  5-acre  clover  field  one  morning  and  in  28  hours  the  mole 


had  dug  68  feet  of  main  line  and  361/2  feet  of  branch  lines,  making  a 
total  of  1041/2  feet. 

Place  a  mole  on  an  ordinary  grass  lawn  and  it  will  sink  its  nose 
into  the  soil  like  an  awl.  In  3  seconds  the  head  will  be  under  ground, 
in  10  seconds  the  body  will  have  disappeared.  In  3  minutes  the  mole 
will  have  tunneled  a  foot. 

Their  fur  is  a  fine,  velvety,  shimmering  grey.  They  eat  insects  of 
various  kinds  and  are  a  great  benefit  to  the  lawn  if  the  grass  is  rolled 
after  the  trip  of  the  burrower  through  a  given  portion. 

The  fisher  No.  870  from  Tacoma,  Wash.,  is  one  of  the  largest  flesh 
eaters  constituting  the  marten  family  (the  Mustelidae).  In  this  family 
are  the  otter,  mink,  weasel,  marten,  and  fisher,-  which  are  somewhat 
similar,  and  the  wolverine,  skunk,  and  badger.  The  fisher  is  found  all 
the  way  from  Maine  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  in  rocky  and  swampy  forested 
regions.  It  nests  in  the  ground.  It  has  an  enormous  appetite  and  eats 
any  kind  of  animal  food,  such  as  fish,  rabbits,  all  kinds  of  squirrels — 
tree  squirrels,  rock  squirrels,  ground  squirrels — toads,  frogs,  snakes,  and 
any  bird  which  it  can  catch.  It  is  a  good  climber  and  an  industrious 
hunter.  It  is  the  largest  of  the  marten  family,  long  bodied,  handsome, 
bold,  and  intelligent. 

The  marten  No.  478  is  smaller  than  the  fisher  and  has  a  less  bushy 
tail.  It  looks  like  a  young  red  fox  or  a  large  domesticated  cat.  It  lives 
in  the  same  regions  and  has  similar  habits  as  the  fisher,  but  is  a  better 
climber  and  makes  its  home  in  trees.  It  makes  a  nest  in  the  hole  of  a 
woodpecker  or  squirrel  and  with  nose  just  poked  out  watches  for  its 
prey.  Martens  eat  various  nuts  and  berries  in  addition  to  animal  food — 
as  I  have  no  doubt  nearly  all  carniverous  animals  do.  They  relish 
"salads"  of  some  kind. 

The  mink  No.  476  from  Normal,  111.,  looks  something  like  a  weasel 
but  is  larger.  Its  body  is  about  as  thick  as  the  wrist  of  a  medium  sized 
man.  Its  legs  are  short,  its  tail  round  and  hairy.  The  prevailing  color 
is  some  shade  of  brown.  It  lives  chiefly  on  birds,  which  it  catches  with 
ease.  It  is  not  as  successful  in  catching  fish  as  the  marten  and  fisher. 

The  weasel  is  represented  by  three  specimens:  Nos.  474  and  4741/2 
from  Dixon,  111.,  and  No.  475.  No.  474  represents  the  summer  coat  of  the 
animal,  which  is  brown.  The  other  two  represent  the  winter  coat,  which 
is  white — reversing  the  custom  of  the  human  race,  which  employs  white 
clothing  in  the  summer.  In  its  winter  coat  the  weasel  is  commonly 
called  the  ermine.  The  weasel  is  the  smallest  of  the  marten  family.  Its 
body  is  extremely  thin  and  snake-like,  being  about  as  thick  as  a  man's 
thumb.  What  the  dachshund  is  among  dogs,  the  weasel  is  among  the 
marten  family.  It  makes  a  good  subject  for  caricature,  appearing  so 
awkward,  especially  when  its  short  front  legs  are  moving  about  inde- 
pendently of  the  hind  legs.  There  are  fifteen  kinds  of  weasels  known. 
One  of  them,  the  least  weasel,  found  in  Saskatchewan,  is  the  smallest 
carniverous  animal  in  the  world.  Weasels  live  on  rabbits,  grouse, 
chicken,  etc.  They  seem  to  delight  in  killing,  and  when  the  opportunity 
comes  will  kill  20  times  as  much  as  it  is  possible  for  them  to  eat. 

The  badger  No.  502  from  Colorado  furnishes  the  nickname  to  Wis- 
consin, although  it  is  found  in  all  of  the  states  from  Indiana  to  the 


29 

Sierra  Nevada  and  as  far  south  as  New  Mexico.  Its  broad,  flat  body, 
short  legs,  and  other  features  seem  to  show  that  it  is  a  kind  of  connect- 
ing link  between  the  wolverine  and  the  skunk.  It  has  a  sullen,  evil 
disposition.  It  lives  in  burrows  and  feeds  upon  various  kinds  of  squir- 
rels, prairie  dogs  and  other  small  animals.  It  is  found  often  in  desert 
places  where  there  would  seem  to  be  absolutely  nothing  for  it  to  eat. 

The  skunk  No.  503  from  Colorado  represents  the  last  specimen 
shown  of  the  marten  family.  There  are  15  varieties  of  skunk,  3  of 
which  are  abundant  in  Illinois.  Its  black  fur  is  usually  divided  by  two 
bands  of  white.  When  these  white  bands  are  dyed  black,  the  skin  is 
prized  by  furriers  since  most  of  the  other  members  of  the  marten  family 
have  been  killed.  The  skunk's  chief  means  of  defense  consists  in  an 
ill-smelling  fluid  secreted  by  two  glands  near  the  base  of  the  tail.  This 
fluid  can  be  thrown  several  feet  and  is  so  stifling  that  neither  man  nor 
beast  can  endure  it.  The  skunk  feeds  on  grubs  and  insects  of  various 
kinds  and  in  this  regard  is  a  useful  animal. 

The  jumping  mouse  No.  494,  often  seen  in  wheat  fields  in  Illinois, 
is  a  surprising  little  creature  with  its  slender  body  and  with  the 
kangaroo-like  tail  which  enables  it  to  jump  10  feet  at  a  bound.  It 
holds  the  record  for  long  jumping  for  any  animal  of  its  size.  It  is 
nocturnal  in  its  habits  and  feeds  on  weed  seeds  chiefly,  being  in  this 
regard  beneficial. 

Several  groups  of  bats  well  illustrate  two  of  the  200  varieties  of 
this  curious  mammal.  No.  853  shows  a  group  of  three  bats  given  by 
Mr.  Yoakley  and  No.  844  a  group  of  four  given  by  Mr.  Ed.  Worthen, 
both  of  Springfield.  No.  632  is  a  fair-sized  specimen.  No.  833  is  a 
hoary  bat.  The  red  bat  is  the  commonest  bat  through  all  this  country. 
In  the  early  twilight  he  may  be  seen  gliding  swiftly  in  and  out  among 
bushes,  trees  and  even  porches  of  houses,  moving  with  marvelous  speed 
and  skill.  He  makes  the  most  wonderful  turns  and  gyrations  in  his 
search  after  insects.  In  the  daytime  a  sharp-eyed  observer  may  find 
bats  hanging  closely  under  the  leaves  or  beneath  the  eaves  of  houses  and 
barns  and  in  chimney  corners.  They  are  fond  of  nesting  in  caves.  In 
the  caves  in  some  sections  of  the  country,  myriads  of  bats  may  be  seen 
hanging  from  the  ceiling  like  mineral  incrustations  or  lichens.  The 
hoary  bat  is  the  largest  bat  in  this  part  of  the  country  and  is  compara- 
tively rare.  Many  people  have  a  nervous  dread  of  bats.  The  animal  is 
a  valuable  creature,  helpful  to  man's  interests. 

The  highest  animals  shown  in  the  museum  are  the  old  world 
monkeys;  the  macaque  No.  521,  the  ordinary  monkey  of  the  showman 
No.  520,  and  the  baboon  from  Africa  No.  459. 

The  baboon  lives  in  Africa  all  the  way  from  Abysinnia  to  the  Zam- 
bezi. It  lives  on  the  ground  and  not  in  the  trees  as  do  the  other 
monkeys.  It  prefers  rocky  hills  where  the  vegetation  is  scant.  It  is  the 
fiercest  of  all  the  primates,  strong,  agile,  quarrelsome.  It  has  a  dog- 
like  muzzle,  cheek  pouches,  naked  callosities  and  is  often  brightly  colored 
on  the  buttocks.  It  has  short  strong  limbs.  It  eats  all  kinds  of  food 
which  it  is  able  to  capture  or  kill. 

The  macaque  No.  521  is  a  short  tailed  moderate  sized  monkey  with 
prominent  canine  teeth  and  cheek  pouches.  It  is  the  cousin  of  the  baboon. 


30 

However  it  lives  in  tree  tops  and  goes  about  in  troops  headed  by  an  old 
male  and  stays  away  from  other  monkeys.  Its  food  consists  chiefly  of 
seeds,  fruits,  insects  and  lizards.  When  young  it  is  docile  and  easily 
tamed  but  when  old  becomes  morose.  The  ordinary  monkey  No.  520  of 
the  showman,  is  closely  related  to  the  macaque.  Its  home  is  in  the  tree 
tops  and  it  is  an  eater  of  insects,  berries  and  fruits.  None  of  these 
animals  have  ever  been  found  in  the  United  States. 

SKELETONS.     CASE  12. 

In  the  lower  part  of  this  case  are  a  series  of  skeletons.  No.  756  is 
the  skull  of  a  hippopotamus  from  South  Africa,  presented  by  Mr.  E.  W. 
Payne  of  Springfield.  No.  447  is  the  skeleton  of  a  Virginia  deer,  No. 
456  represents  the  skeleton  of  a  black  bear.  The  skeletons  of  the  fol- 
lowing smaller  mammals  are  represented :  the  wood  hare  No.  499 ;  the 
muskrat  No.  490,  Anna,  111.;  the  raccoon  No.  497;  the  opossum  No.  522, 
Illinois;  the  mink  No.  477,  Normal,  111.;  the  prairie  mole  No.  515;  and 
the  sewellel  No.  517,  Washington. 

CENTKAL  MAMMAL  CASE.     CASE    14. 

In  the  large  case  adjacent  are  assembled  a  number  of  the  larger 
mammals  both  carniverous  and  herbiverous.  The  eye  naturally  falls 
first  upon  the  grizzly  bear  No.  454.  A  grizzly  bear  is  the  largest  and 
most  ferocious  of  all  bears.  He  is  a  great  traveler,  loves  water,  swims 
well  but  cannot  climb  trees.  He  is  an  omniverous  feeder.  At  certain 
seasons  of  the  year  its  principal  means  of  subsistence  is  roots  of  small 
plants  and  flowers,  and  when  hunting  for  these  he  tears  up  great  stretches 
of  country  in  a  surprisingly  short  time.  At  other  times  his  chief  food 
is  fish.  The  grizzly  is  a  skillful  fisherman.  He  stands  upon  a  rock  or 
log  or  in  the  water  and  snatches  at  fish  with  lightning  rapidity,  scooping 
them  high  out  upon  the  bank.  After  he  has  eaten  all  that  he  wishes,  he 
will  often  bury  a  supply  for  future  use. 

The  black  bear  No.  455  is  a  smaller  and  less  ferocious  animal  than 
the  grizzly.  He  is  an  omniverous  feeder.  His  diet  includes  mammals 
ranging  from  mice  to  sheep  and  birds,  fish,  frogs,  insects,  berries,  and 
honey.  He  is  a  good  tree  climber.  His  home  is  in  the  same  general 
range  of  country  as  that  of  the  grizzly,  but  he  is  more  widely  dissemi- 
nated. Up  to  the  middle  of  the  last  century  the  black  bear  was  common 
in  wooded  localities  in  Illinois  and  examples  were  killed  as  late  as  the 
sixties. 

The  puma  No.  451  (also  called  cougar,  mountain  lion,  or  panther) 
is  the  largest  and  most  widely  known  of  the  wild  cat  family  found  in 
the  United  States.  At  one  time  it  spread  all  over  the  United  States. 
As  late  as  1900,  pumas  have  been  seen  among  the  bluffs  of  the  Missis- 
sippi Eiver  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State.  Their  color  is  brownish 
drab  and  they  are  tall,  long  and  thin  bodied.  They  are  the  best  tree 
climbers  of  all  the  large  cats.  They  are  shy,  nocturnal  animals.  They 
do  their  hunting  after  sunset  or  early  in  the  morning.  They  are  great 
wanderers.  They  prey  upon  deer,  sheep,  rabbits,  squirrels,  prairie  dogs, 
birds,  fish,  etc.  The  cry  of  the  puma  in  early  days  used  to  fill  people 


31 

with  dread.  It  is  said  to  resemble  the  scream  of  a  child  or  woman.  It 
commences  on  a  low  key,  gradually  ascends,  increasing  in  volume  and 
then  lowers  to  a  long,  drawn-out  wail. 

The  ocelet  No.  483  from  Mexico  is  a  small  leopard  of  pale  yellow 
color  with  back  and  sides  marked  with  irregular  stripes  and  bands  which 
run  somewhat  horizontally  lengthwise.  No  other  animal  has  such  hori- 
zontal stripes.  It  spends  most  of  its  time  on  the  lower  branches  of  trees 
watching  for  its  prey — small  quadrupeds  and  birds.  It  has  never  been 
found  in  Illinois. 

The  Canada  lynx  No.  480,  from  Maine,  the  wild  cat  No.  481,  from 
Michigan,  the  Texas  wild  cat  No.  482  from  New  Mexico  are  the  three 
other  representatives  of  the  cat  tribe.  They  are  well  equipped  by  nature 
for  their  struggle  for  existence.  All  are  characterized  by  remarkable 
agility  and  no  mean  strength.  They  possess  a  high  order  of  cunning  and 
intelligence.  In  a  way,  they  are  useful  animals,  living  upon  the  lowest 
form  of  mammal  life,  such  as  rats,  mice,  and  other  rodents.  Their 
utility  is  less  in  evidence  when  they  choose  for  their  food  various  kinds 
of  birds.  The  Canada  lynx  never  lived  as  far  south  as  Illinois,  but  wild 
cats  were  at  one  time  abundant  and  are  still  found  in  the  State. 

In  the  same  case  are  to  be  found  the  grey  wolf  No.  452  and  the 
coyote  No.  453.  The  grey  wolf  was  never  common  in  this  State,  but 
coyotes  were  abundant  and  gave  the  pioneers  much  annoyance,  terror, 
and  loss.  They  are  still  seen  occasionally  in  the  northwest  and  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  State.  Coyotes  are  cowardly  animals  and  carry 
their  tail  low  as  if  advertising  the  fact.  While  they  sometimes  kill  pigs 
and  sheep,  they  live  chiefly  upon  small  mammals,  birds,  reptiles,  fish, 
and  insects.  They  relish  carrion. 

Next  may  be  seen  a  red  fox  No.  486  from  Anna,  111.,  and  two 
grey  foxes  Nos.  487  and  .488,  male  and  female.  Foxes  are  always  inter- 
esting animals  and  are  noted  for  their  cunning  and  wariness.  The  red 
fox  is  said  to  surpass  the  grey  in  shrewdness  and  in  ability  to  avoid 
traps  and  to  take  care  of  himself.  Formerly  they  were  abundant  and 
are  still  to  be  found  occasionally  in  Illinois.  Foxes  are  swift  runners 
and  so  agile  that  they  can  climb  low  trees.  They  destroy  numberless 
mice,  squirrels,  woodchucks,  but  unfortunately  are  very  fond  of  chickens. 

The  raccoons  which  are  represented  by  No.  495  and  also  by  a  group 
consisting  of  a  female  and  three  cubs  No.  496,  all  from  Anna,  111.,  are 
still  common  in  this  State.  They  are  nocturnal  in  their  habits,  live  in 
hollow  trees  and  hibernate  in  winter  for  a  short  time.  They  are  om- 
niverous  but  are  most  fond  of  green  corn  and  berries  and  other  fruits. 
The  scientific  name  lotor  was  given  because  of  their  habit  of  washing 
their  food  before  eating.  Whenever  possible  they  dip  their  food  into 
water  and  then  proceed  to  devour  it.  "Coons"  furnish  a  favorite  article 
of  diet  throughout  the  South,  especially  with  the  negroes,  and  for  them 
a  coon  hunt  is  a  prize  event.  Eaccoons  make  interesting  pets. 

The  opossum  group  No.  457  from  Illinois  shows  how  fond  these 
animals  are  of  a  home  in  a  tree  and  how  they  able  to  suspend  them- 
selves by  their  tails.  They  are  slow  of  mind  and  of  muscle  and  are 
seemingly  ill  fitted  to  either  fight  or  run  away.  But  they  are  good 
climbers  and  in  this  way  often  save  their  lives.  When  caught  the 


32 

opossum  stretches  out  limp  and  motionless  just  as  if  it  were  dead.  Its 
breath  is  short  and  cannot  be  detected.  It  is  playing  "possum."  This 
feigning  death  no  doubt  sometimes  saves  its  life.  Usually  it  burrows 
under  the  roots  of  a  large  tree  where  it  is  relatively  safe,  since  it  can 
not  be  dug  out.  It  hibernates  like  the  woodchuck  and  bear  and  a  num- 
ber of  other  animals  shown  thus  far  in  the  collection.  It  makes  good 
eating  when  properly  cooked.  Its  food  is  about  anything  that  can  be 
chewed. 

The  American  elk  (or  wapiti)  Nos.  440  and  442.  The  last  of 
these  magnificent  herbivorous  animals  disappeared  from  the  State  about 
1830.  Antlers  are  still  occasionally  found  in  swamps.  Elk  are  in  danger 
of  extermination  in  the  West  also  unless  they  are  better  protected  by 
law.  A  full-sized  elk  is  as  large  as  a  horse,  carries  his  head  as  proudly 
and  in  the  winter  is  crowned  with  magnificent  antlers  which  are  shed 
every  spring  and  renewed  during  the  summer.  In  the  fall  the  bull's 
antlers  are  hard  and  sharp.  Their  necks  are  swollen,  and  their  eye 
sockets  enlarged.  They  stalk  about  with  ears  laid  back  and  nostrils 
expanded,  shrieking  first  with  a  high  note  like  a  shrill  whistle  and 
sliding  down  the  scale  into  a  terrific  bellow.  Woe  betide  the  man  who 
is  overtaken  by  one  of  these  murderous  demons. 

The  caribou  No.  444  is  distinctively  a  northern  animal  and  was 
never  found  in  Illinois.  It  may  be  distinguished  by  the  two  peculiar 
prongs  of  its  horns  which  extend  forward.  Its  wide  spread  hoofs,  dew 
claws  and  rather  long  feet  enable  it  to  travel  readily  across  tundras, 
swamps  or  snowy  plains.  This  specimen  was  obtained  in  Canada. 

A  small  albino  Virginia  deer  No.  446  from  Michigan  and  a  young 
antelope  from  Wyoming  No.  668  complete  the  exhibit  of  the  deer  group 
in  this  case. 

The  American  buffalo  No.  438  roamed  over  Illinois  in  great  herds 
as  late  as  the  beginning  of  the  18th  century.  Its  flesh  was  found  by  the 
first  settlers  to  be  excellent  eating,  not  to  be  distinguished  from  that  of 
cattle.  Its  hides  made  wonderfully  warm  robes,  blankets,  rugs.  Its 
bones  were  useful  in  various  ways  and  consequently  as  the  pioneers  in- 
creased the  buffalo  decreased.  The  last  in  Illinois  disappeared  in  about 
1800.  Its  disappearance  in  this  State  was  an  example  of  its  history 
in  one  state  after  another.  In  1870  there  were  probably  5,000,000 
buffalo  in  the  states  east  of  the  Eocky  Mountains.  Within  15  years 
thereafter  the  buffalo  were  practically  exterminated.  There  are  a  few 
wild  buffalo,  maybe  50,  now  in  the  United  States  and  possibly  500  in 
Canada.  There  are  about  1,000  in  parks  and  zoological  gardens.  They 
are  tractable  and  easily  cared  for.  Occasionally  an  individual  becomes 
savage  and  then  should  best  be  displayed  in  a  museum  of  natural  history. 
Our  specimen  is  worth  several  hundred  dollars. 

The  Texas  peccary  No.  450  is  the  sole  representative  in  the  museum 
of  the  wild  swine  family.  It  never  has  lived  in  Illinois,  but  its  home 
extends  from  Arkansas  and  Texas  as  far  south  as  Paraguay.  It  lives  by 
preference  in  forests  or  jungles  where  are  to  be  found  shelter  and  such  a 
great  variety  of  food  as  nuts,  edible  roots,  reptiles  and  small  animals  of 
various  kinds.  When  attacked  it  shows  itself  to  be  no  mean  antagonist. 
It  is  courageous  and  fierce.  Both  jaws  are  armed  with  long,  sharp 


33 

tusks.  Thanks  to  these  good  weapons  and  to  its  pugnacity  it  has  been 
able  to  thrive  in  woods  infested  with  the  puma,  ocelot  and  wolf. 

The  beaver  No.  491  is  represented  by  a  specimen  obtained  in  Mich- 
igan. At  one  time  beaver  were  abundant  in  all  parts  of  this  State,  espe- 
cially in  the  northern  half  and  have  left  their  marks  in  the  form  of  canals, 
beaver  dams,  huts  and  cut  trees.  They  are  probably  now  extinct  though 
as  late  as  1910  some  are  reported  to  have  been  seen  in  Alexander  County. 
The  reason  of  their  disappearance  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  buffalo. 
Their  skins  were  among  the  most  prized  of  wild  animal  skins.  For 
many  years  they  were  sold  to  the  American  Pur  Company  by  the  hun- 
dreds of  thousands — another  example  of  lack  of  conservation  of  natural 
resources.  The  beaver  is  the  largest  knawing  animal  in  North  America 
and  leads  the  world  in  industry  and  engineering  skill.  The  muscles  of 
his  jaw  are  powerful  and  his  front  teeth  very  strong  and  sharp.  He 
stands  on  his  hind  legs  supported  by  his  tail  and  begins  to  circle  a  tree 
cutting  with  surprising  rapidity.  After  a  time  the  tree  falls  and  the 
beaver  cuts  off  branches  to  store  away  under  water  for  food  in  the  winter. 
He  uses  the  log  to  aid  in  building  a  dam.  If  the  log  is  too  large  for 
several  beavers  to  drag,  they  will  often  dig  a  canal  and  transport  the  log 
to  the  desired  place.  Several  logs  are  obtained.  Branches  and  mud 
and  rocks  are  applied  and  dams  of  great  length  and  height  are  erected 
to  form  a  pond  in  which  a  house  similar  to  a  muskrat's  house  but  larger, 
is  built. 

The  seal  No.  534  from  Alaska  is  to  the  ocean  what  the  beaver  is  to 
fresh  water.  Its  fur  is  even  more  prized  than  is  the  fur  of  the  beaver. 

Kangaroos  of  which  a  male  No.  460  and  a  female  No.  461  are 
shown,  are  peculiar  to  Australia.  They  are  marsupials  since  as  we  have 
seen  in  the  opossum  and  flying  phalanger,  the  female  has  a  flexible  pouch 
which  contains  the  nursing  gland  and  in  which  she  places  the  tiny,  weak 
newly  born  young.  This  pouch  serves  as  a  nest  and  automobile  for  the 
babies  until  they  are  too  large  to  take  refuge  therein.  The  kangaroos 
can  leap  20  feet  at  a  bound  and  travel  great  distances  in  a  day. 

INSECT  CASES.  CASES  16  TO  19. 

Along  the  walls  are  four  cases  containing  insects  in  upright  glass- 
covered  panels.  In  each  case  are  42  panels,  making  together  168  panels, 
and  in  some  of  the  panels  are  as  many  as  60  insects.  The  list  includes 
common  butterflies  and  moths,  a  variety  of  beetles,  grasshoppers,  fleas, 
flies,  etc.  They  represent  insects  for  the  most  part  injurious  to  vegeta- 
tion, though  some  of  them  are  beneficent. 

EELIEF    MAP    OF    ILLINOIS.     CASE    15. 

Near  the  insect  cases  is  a  large  relief  map  of  Illinois,  10  by  18  feet 
in  size,  prepared  for  exhibition  at  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  in 
Chicago,  1893.  It  was  modeled  by  Louise  Barwick  of  Tracy,  Chicago. 
Topographic  and  other  data  were  obtained  from  original  government 
bench  marks,  from  railroad  levels,  and  from  special  measurements  made 
— 3  S  M 


34 

under  the  direction  of  Prof.  Rolfe  of  the  University  of  Illinois  for  this 
purpose.  Ninety  thousand  nails  were  driven  in  the  various  portions  to 
give  the  elevations.  These  were  covered  with  plaster  and  the  whole 
surface  was  given  several  coats  of  paint,  so  that  in  spite  of  the  number 
of  times  that  the  map  has  been  moved  and  in  spite  of  the  carelessness  of 
visitors  in  touching  the  map  with  umbrellas  and  canes,  it  is  in  well- 
preserved  condition.  Its  horizontal  scale  is  2  miles  to  the  inch  and 
vertical  scale  500  feet  to  the  inch.  The  sea  level  is  represented  by  the 
frame  in  which  the  raised  portion  is  set.  This  gives  an  excellent  idea 
of  the  elevation  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  its  gradual  drop  from  the 
northwest  corner  to  the  southernmost  point  in  the  State,  where  it  is  but 
267  feet  above  sea  level.  The  highest  point  in  the  State  is  said  to  be  at 
Charles  Mound  near  Galena.  The  elevation  is  given  as  1,241  feet  above 
sea  level.  The  State  extends  from  latitude  37°  to  42°  30'  north  lati- 
tude, somewhat  over  5°  or  385  miles  in  length.  In  longitude  it  extends 
87°  35'  to  91°  40'.  That  is  4°  in  extreme  width  or  218  miles.  It  con- 
tains 56,000  square  miles  of  land  and  650  miles  of  water.  A  glance  at 
the  map  shows  that  it  is  very  level — in  fact,  it  is  the  third  most  level 
state  in  the  Union,  being  surpassed  by  Delaware  and  Louisiana  alone. 
Over  the  major  portions  of  the  State,  glacial  materials  have  been  spread 
out.  The  surface,  looks  as  if  mud,  sand  and  gravel  had  blotted  out  the 
original  valleys.  Where  these  glacier  materials  are  wanting,  as,  for 
example,  in  the  northwest  corner  and  in  the  extreme  south,  the  country 
is  deeply  dissected  and  gullied. 

Stretching  from  Lake  Michigan  southwest  across  the  State  is  the 
Illinois  Valley,  which  is  so  wide  and  deep  as  to  call  attention  to  the  fact 
that  in  pleistocene  times  the  Great  Lakes  emptied  through  this  valley 
into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

HORNET'S  NESTS. 

Suspended  from  the  ceiling  are  three  hornet's  nests.  The  largest 
No.  888  came  from  Mendon,  111.,  and  was  given  by  Ray  H.  Beer.  The 
paper  of  which  it  is  composed  is  manufactured  by  the  hornets  from  the 
bark  of  trees. 

MAMMAL  HEADS. 

On  the  south  wall  are  attached  the  heads  of  a  number  of  mammals. 
The  list  is  as  follows:  The  Rocky  Mountain  goat  No.  689;  the  prong 
horn  No.  634 ;  the  American  elk  No.  441 ;  horns  of  the  American  elk 
No.  443;  the  moose  No.  448;  the  American  buffalo  No.  439;  the  bull 
moose  No.  877,  from  Montana,  loaned  by  Mrs.  F.  D.  Roach. 

Suspended  from  the  tall  cases  in  the  middle  of  the  museum  are 
three  pairs  of  Virginia  deer  horns.  There  is  also  suspended  on  the  wall 
on  the  south  side  of  the  room  the  carapace  of  a  green  turtle  No.  892. 

FOSSIL   EXHIBITS.     CASES    21    TO    24. 

Occupying  the  center  of  the  room  are  10  flat-top  cases  containing 
fossil  invertebrates  for  the  most  part  and  a  small  number  of  vertebrates. 


35 

The  numbers  begin  at  the  extreme  east  of  the  room.  Each  flat-top  case 
contains  four  panels,  which  are  given  a  number  in  the  corner  of  the 
panel. 

Case  No.  1  is  filled  with  a  valuable  collection  of  fossil  cephalopoda 
of  a  great  variety  of  sizes  and  shapes.  The  chambered  nautilus  is  one  of 
the  most  widely  known  and  beautiful  of  modern  Cephalopods.  It  is  the 
shell  which  inspired  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes'  poem,  said  by  many  ad- 
mirers to  be  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  all  literature.  The  fossil 
Cephalopods  are  for  the  most  part  not  attractive  in  appearance,  since 
their  color  and  form  are  monotonous.  They  represent  only  the  stony 
filling  of  original  shells.  Sometimes,  however,  the  original  mother  of 
pearl  is  retained.  The  majority  of  these  shells  are  ammonites.  Case 
No.  1  contains  several  hundred  varieties.  In  general,  it  may  be  said 
that  the  straight  forms,  such  as  orthoceras,  were  the  most  primitive  type 
and  as  the  ages  passed  the  animals  adopted  the  habit  of  curling  up,  at 
first  in  simple  whorls  and  later  in  more  closely  involved  forms.  The 
partitions  which  the  ammonite  constructed  behind  it  as  it  advanced  into 
the  newer  and  larger  part  of  the  shell  were  at  first  comparatively  straight 
in  their  outline.  The  more  recent  forms  developed  sutures  which  dis- 
play the  delicate  tracery  of  fern  leaves.  The  giant  othoceras  in  the 
collection  is  No.  1293  from  the  Trenton  group  at  Galena.  It  is  about 
2  feet  long  and  nearly  1  foot  through.  One  of  the  most  highly  involved 
forms  is  lituites  No.  2335  from  the  Trenton  group  at  Homer,  111. 

In  case  No.  II  are  to  be  found  chiefly  corals  changed  to  stone.  Of 
these  there  are  many  hundreds  shown,  remarkable  in  variety  and  strik- 
ing in  structure.  These  fossils,  together  with  those  in  the  first  case  and 
of  the  subsequent  cases,  are  a  monument  to  the  activity  and  learning  of 
a  former  curator  of  the  museum,  Prof.  A.  H.  Worthen,  who  for  30 
years  did  such  valuable  work  for  the  State  and  added  so  much  to  our 
renown  along  the  lines  of  geological  and  paleontological  investigations. 
In  the  remarkable  collection  which  he  brought  together  are  nearly  700 
type  specimens.  These  type  specimens  are  usually  marked  with  a 
diamond-shaped  label,  both  on  the  specimen  and  label.  They  were  col- 
lected in  all  parts  of  the  State  and  in  all  geological  horizons.  To  this 
number  were  added  a  large  number  of  fossils  from  all  parts  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley  states. 

In  Case  III  are  displayed  many  hundreds  of  sponges  and  bryozoans 
which  were  turned  to  stone  millions  of  years  ago.  The  largest  fossil 
sponge  shown  is  Calapora  No.  2912,  from  the  Keokuk  group  in  Hancock 
County,  Illinois. 

Case  IV  contains  chiefly  brachiopods  (i.  e.,  "arm  footed  animals"). 
These  mollusk,  like  animals  certain  of  which  are  now  called  lamp-shells, 
flourished  especially  in  Silurian  times.  More  than  4,000  species  of 
brachiopods  have  been  described.  They  were  marine  animals.  Now  they 
are  practically  extinct.  Lingula,  which  lived  in  Silurian  times,  still 
flourishes.  Among  those  displayed  are  some  of  the  most  typical  as  well 
as  the  rarest  found  chiefly  in  the  Carboniferous  and  Silurian  formations 
of  Illinois. 

Case  V  contains  chiefly  gasteropods  and  pteropods  (i.  e.,  the 
stomach  footed,  since  they  crawl  on  their  bellies,  and  wing  footed,  since 


36 

portions  of  their  feet  are  expanded  into  a  wing-like  figure).     The  snail 
is  a  typical  modern  gasteropod. 

Case  VI  contains  chiefly  trilobites,  so  named  because  of  the  division 
of  their  bodies  into  three  sections  or  lobes,  whether  viewed  from  side  to 
side  or  from  head  to  tail. 

Eepresentatives  of  all  of  these  groups  of  fossils  thus  far  mentioned 
may  be  found  by  one  who  carefully  examines  the  limestone  and  shales 
freshly  exposed  by  stream  cutting  or  quarrying  in  different  portions  of 
the  State. 

In  the  bottom  of  Case  VI  are  placed  a  large  number  of  modern 
coral. 

Case  VII  displays  fossil  plants  especially  and  largely  those  con- 
nected with  the  deposition  of  coal.  The  lepidodendrons  (see  No.  1618 
from  the  Mississippian  at  LaSalle),  or  scaled  trees,  were  the  most 
characteristic  trees  of  that  period.  They  were  closely  related  to  the 
now  widely  spread  club  mosses.  The  leaves  were  fastened  to  the  trunk 
by  lozenge-shaped  leaf  cushions,  sometimes  separated  from  each  other 
and  at  other  times  confluent  above  and  below.  The  leaf  scars  are  rhombic 
or  heart-shaped  and  are  situated  above  the  central  part  of  the  cushions. 

No.  8680,  a  sigillaria  from  the  Mississippian  of  Jackson  County, 
represents  a  tree  marked  by  leaf  scars,  which  shows  that  the  leaves  were 
spirally  fastened  to  stems  and  arranged  in  ribs  or  vertical  ridges.  Sig- 
illaria were  closely  related  to  lepidodendrons. 

The  Mazon  Creek,  Grundy  County,  fossil  leaves  are  well  repre- 
sented. 

In  this  case  there  is  also  the  head  and  pectoral  fins  of  an  ichthyo- 
saurus from  Wurtemburg,  Germany. 

Case  VIII  is  filled  chiefly  with  crinoids,  the  so-called  "sea  lilies." 
While  they  bear  the  name  of  lily  they  were  in  reality  animals  and  not 
plants.  They  were  stationary  animals,  having  a  stem  like  a  lily  stem, 
which  was  fastened  to  the  underlying  mud  by  roots.  This  stem  is  made 
up  of  a  large  number  of  segments.  In  some  cases  the  segments  are  of 
the  size  of  10-cent  pieces,  both  in  diameter  and  thickness;  in  others 
they  are  much  larger,  while  often  they  are  minute.  On  the  top  of  the 
stem  is  that  portion  of  the  animal  which  corresponds  to  the  calyx  of  a 
lily.  It  was  composed  of  pentagonal  plates  so  well  shown  in  barycrinus 
No.  1866.  These  plates  were  fastened  together  by  membranes  and  on 
the  interior  was  the  fleshy  part  of  the  animal.  Surrounding  the  upper 
portions  were  a  series  of  tentacles  or  arms.  The  animal  could  wave  its 
arms  to  attract  small  animalculea  or  even  larger  forms  of  life  and  then 
grab  the  food  and  force  it.  into  its  mouth.  The  variety  and  delicacy  of 
the  arms  displayed  in  various  crinoids  is  interesting. 

Case  IX  consists  chiefly  of  fossil  teeth  of  sharks  and  other  fishes. 
Their  variety  is  astounding.  Many  of  the  teeth  are  of  the  kind  known 
as  "pavement  teeth,"  being  flat  and  set  close  on  the  bottom  and  on  the 
roof  of  the  mouth.  Some  of  the  teeth  are  minute,  while  others  measure 
4  inches  in  breadth.  The  largest  belong  to  a  shark  called  carcharodon 
No.  6994,  a  man-eating  shark  of  enormous  size.  The  best  examples  of 
carcharodon  were  found  in  South  Carolina  in  deposits  which  have  fur- 
nished .tons  of  these  teeth..  The  jaws  in  which  the  teeth  were  placed 


37 

measured  6  feet  across  and  the  open  mouth  could  admit  an  object  3 
feet  high. 

In  Case  X  are  displayed  the  remains  of  fossil  vertebrates,  chiefly 
the  teeth,  jaws,  and  leg  bones  of  the  mastodon  and  of  elephas  primi- 
genius.  There  are  a  few  bones  of  the  primitive  horses  and  deer. 

TALL  FLOOR  CASES.  CASES  31  TO  34. 

The  four  tall  cases  in  the  north  part  of  the  room  are  for  the  most 
part  filled  with  petrographic  specimens  above  and  with  fossils  and 
shells  in  the  lower  part. 

For  example  the  marbles  used  in  the  construction  of  the  State- 
house  are  shown  in  the  1st  panel,  Case  No.  XVIII.  See  Nos.  620,  624, 
631,  630,  632,  627,  629,  636,  634,  638,  635,  and  984,  2134,  2148,  2141, 
2142,  2143,  2145,  2135. 

In  the  next  panel  are  a  series  of  geodes  from  the  Keokuk  group 
in  Warsaw,  Hancock  County,  Illinois.  In  panels  3  and  4  and  in  panel 
5  of  Case  XVII  are  ores  of  economic  importance  from  various  parts  of 
the  United  States. 

In  the  lower  panels  of  Case  XVII,  1,  2,  3,  and  4,  are  a  series  of 
fossils.  Also  in  1,  2,  3,  4,  of  Cases  XIV,  XV,  XVI.  In  the  upper 
parts  of  Cases  XIII,  XIV,  XV,  XVI,  are  the  petrographical  collections 
which  have  been  assembled  in  various  parts  of  the  State  of  Illinois  and 
which  have  been  purchased  from  dealers  in  this  country  and  abroad. 

In  the  lower  part  of  Cases  XI,  XII  and  XIII  are  the  shell  col- 
lections, a  list  of  which  was  published  in  the  museum  report  for  1911 
and  1912. 

In  the  upper  panels  of  Case  XII  are  a  fine  series  of  fossil  tracks 
from  the  Triassic  sandstone  of  the  Connecticut  valley  of  No.  2419  and 
2420  and  from  the  Triassic  sandstone  of  Massachusetts  No.  2426,  etc. 

In  the  upper  panels  of  Case  XI  are  ethnographical  collections 
from  Greenland,  and  from  the  Hawaiian  and  Fiji  Islands.  They 
exhibit  such  things  as  native  war  clubs,  cloth,  girdles,  wallets,  brace- 
lets, tools,  etc. 

ARCHAEOLOGICAL  COLLECTIONS.     CASES  34  AND  35. 

In  the  wall  case  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  room  are  Indian  relics 
such  as  arrowheads,  ax  heads,  spades,  knives,  pipes,  ornaments,  discoidal 
stones,  plumets,  baskets,  bowls,  pitchers  and  human  skulls  from  various 
Indian  mounds.  This  collection  while  small  is  of  a  certain  degree  of 
completeness  and  is  sufficient  to  call  attention  to  the  great  wealth  of 
material  which  has  been  found  in  the  State  of  Illinois  but  which  is 
rapidly  disappearing. 

MUSKRAT  GROUP.     CASE  36. 

No.  809.  The  habits  of  muskrats  are  depicted  in  the  lifelike 
group  near  the  center  of  the  hall  prepared  by  Julius  Friesser.  A  musk- 
rat  may  be  seen  swimming  through  the  water  of  a  small  pond  in  the 
bottom  of  which  are  lily  pads,  clams  and  other  plants  and  animals 
characteristic  of  small  ponds  in  Illinois.  Another  rat  is  eating  a  lily 


sa 

pad  root  showing  that  they  are  largely  vegetable  feeders.  Still  another 
is  swimming  under  water  to  enter  his  dome-like  house.  These  houses 
are  built  of  reeds  and  rushes,  daubed  together  with  mud.  Throughout 
the  State  scores  of  such  mounds  may  be  seen  in  ponds  which  lack  high 
banks.  If  the  banks  of  a  stream  or  pond  are  precipitous,  muskrats 
burrow  into  them  instead  of  erecting  huts.  Muskrats  knew  how  to 
"throw  arches"  long  before  the  Romans  began  to  do  so.  This  hut  has 
been  cut  through  to  show  the  interior  and  the  rat  inside.  On  the  mound' 
is  another  rat.  The  cattails  and  the  kingfisher  perched  on  a  reed  show 
typical  surroundings.  See  description  of  the  muskrat  on  page  26. 

OWL  CASE.     CASE  37. 

In  the  southeast  corner  of  the  main  room  is  a  large  case  the  upper 
part  of  which  is  filled  with  the  owls  of  Illinois.  The  list  includes  such 
owls  as  the  barn  owl,  the  screech  owl,  Richardson's  owl,  the  Acadian 
owl,  the  short-eared  owl,  the  great  horned  owl,  and  the  snowy  owl. 
In  addition  to  these  Illinois  owls  which  are  so  abundant  and  striking, 
is  the  little  burrowing  owl  the  only  one  in  the  case  which  is  not  found 
in  this  State  but  is  characteristic  of  the  Western  States. 

In  the  bottom  of  the  case  is  the  American  condor,  the  buzzard 
and  the  vulture,  three  birds  most  famous  as  being  scavengers.  The 
condor  is  very  valuable  and  difficult  to  obtain  at  the  present,  since  there 
is  a  penalty  in  the  western  states  where  he  is  found,  for  killing  him. 

GIANT  CRAB.     CASE  38. 

On  the  east  wall  is  a  large  panel  containing  a  giant  crab  from 
Japan.  Underneath  the  giant  crab  is  a  sample  of  one  of  the  smallest 
crabs  known,  the  fiddler  crab.  This  giant  crab  in  his  native  home 
along  the  shore  of  the  Pacific  ocean,  sometimes  reaches  a  maximum 
length  of  eighteen  feet  from  the  extremities  of  his  arms.  These  crabs 
are  scavengers,  slow  of  motion,  sluggish  in  disposition,  lazily  climbing 
over  the  rocks.  Though  uncanny  creatures  to  encounter,  they  are  not 
dangerous  being  neither  fleet  or  strong  and  having  poor  powers  of 
attack  or  defense. 

CORALS.     CASE  39. 

More  attractive  forms  than  the  crab  are  those  embraced  in  the 
case  containing  corals.  The  corals  often  display  marvelous  forms  and 
color.  Their  variety  of  shape  is  surprising  and  their  color  or  the  absence 
of  it  in  the  white  specimens,  many  of  them  being  pure  white,  is  very 
attractive.  Some  of  the  specimens  are  deep  black  and  others  an  attrac- 
tive red. 

EAGLES.     CASE  39. 

In  the  upper  portion  of  the  wall  case  are  eagles,  hawks  and  kites. 
Among  the  hawks  are  the  roughleg,  Swainson's,  broad-winged,  red- 
shouldered,  red-tailed,  ferruginous  roughleg,  Harlan's  hawk  and  a 

variety  of  kites  and  falcons. 


39 

Dr.  W.  T.  Hornaday  on  page  225  of  "The  American  Natural  His- 
tory" holds  up  Pennsylvania  as  an  object  lesson  in  regard  to  certain  ill- 
advized  bird  legislation.  He  says  in  1885  the  legislature  of  that  state 
(Pennsylvania)  enacted  a  law  aimed  at  the  wholesale  destruction  of 
hawks  and  owls,  and  authorizing  the  various  counties  to  pay  cash 
bounties  for  the  "scalps"  of  those  birds,  at  the  rate  of  fifty  cents  each. 
Immediately  the  work  of  slaughter  began.  Many  thousand  scalps  of 
hawks  and  owls  were  brought  in,  and  over  $90,000  were  paid  out  for 
them.  It  has  been  estimated  that  the  "saving"  to  the  agricultural  in- 
terests of  the  state  amounted  to  $1  for  every  $1,205  paid  out  as  boun- 
ties !  In  this  manner  the  balance  of  Nature  was  quickly  and  completely 
destroyed. 

The  awakening  came  even  more  quickly  than  anyone  expected.  By 
the  end  of  two  years  from  the  passage  of  the  very  injudicious  "hawk 
law"  the  farmers  found  their  field-crops  and  orchards  so  completely 
overrun  by  destructive  mice,  rate  and  insects,  they  appealed  to  the  legis- 
lature for  the  quick  repeal  of  the  law.  This  was  brought  about  with  all 
possible  haste.  It  was  estimated  by  competent  judges  that  the  "hawk 
law"  cost  the  farmers  and  fruit  growers  of  Pennsylvania  not  less  than 
$2,000,000  in  actual  losses  on  valuable  crops. 

The  moral  of  this  episode  is — it  is  always  dangerous  and  often 
calamitous  to  disturb  violently  the  balance  of  nature,  either  by  the 
destruction  of  existing  species  of  birds  or  mammals,  or  by  the  intro- 
duction of  new  ones. 


BIRD  AND  MINERAL  ROOM. 


BIBD  EXHIBIT  IN  CASES  40-58. 

An  exhibit  of  birds  and  minerals  is  made  in  room  23.  Beginning 
at  the  left  hand  the  birds  are  arranged  according  to  the  plan  followed 
by  the  American  Ornithological  Union.  First  are  shown  the  grebes, 
next  the  jaegers,  then  twelve  gulls  of  various  sizes  and  plumage.  The 
largest  of  these  are  the  Iceland  gull  No.  371,  and  the  black-backed 
gull  No.  343,  although  the  herring  gulls  attain  considerable  size. 

Next  are  exhibited  eleven  terns.  Few  birds  of  Illinois  or  of  the 
northern  United  States  are  more  picturesque  or  more  strikingly 
ornamented  than  the  loons  of  which  five  examples  are  shown.  No.  524 
was  shot  at  Loami;  No.  682  was  shot  at  Half  Moon  Lake,  Sangamon 
County,  and  donated  by  Mr.  Shamel. 

Next  come  the  anhinga  No.  342  and  435,  two  shearwaters  No.  612 
and  613,  the  yellow-billed  tropic  bird  No.  389,  double-crested  cormor- 
ant No.  344,  and  Florida  cormorant  No.  639,  two  adult  man-o'-war 
birds  JNo.  379  and  684  and  a  iiesiimg  i\o.  o?o. 

Cormorants  are  used  in  some  parts  of  the  world  to  fish  for  the 
advantage  of  men. 

In  the  next  panel  are  two  white  pelicans  No.  340  and  368,  from 
Warsaw,  Illinois. 

No  birds  are  more  sought  after  by  hunters  or  more  abundantly 
found  than  are  the  series  of  ducks  of  which  there  are  three  panels  on 
exhibition  consisting  of  the  following:  the  American  merganser,  male 
and  female  No.  337  and  349,  red-breasted  merganser,  male  and  female 
No.  338  and  339,  the  hooded  merganser,  male  and  female  No.  423  and 
422;  and  a  hooded  merganser,  No.  555,  shot  near  Springfield  and 
donated  by  F.  Eeimer.  Above  them  are  two  mallards,  male  and  female, 
No.  302  and  303. 

In  the  next  panel  are :  a  black  duck,  male  No.  304 ;  the  gadwall, 
male  and  male  and  female  No.  305  and  306;  the  baldpate,  male  and 
female  No.  309  and  310;  blue-winged  teal,  male  and  female  No.  313 
and  314;  green-winged  teal,  male  and  female  No.  315  and  316;  the 
shoveller,  male  and  female  No.  311  and  312;  pintail,  male  and  female 
No.  307  and  308;  redhead,  male  and  female  No.  324  and  425. 

In  the  first  panel  of  Case  XLII  are  shown  the  canvas  back  duck, 
male  and  female  No.  323  and  428;  the  scaup  duck,  male  and  female 
No.  319  and  320;  the  ring-necked  duck,  male  and  female  No.  321  and 
322;  Barrow's  golden-eye,  male  and  female  No.  325  and  326;  the 
buffle  head,  male  and  female  No.  427  and  327;  the  old  squaw,  two 
males  No.  329  and  554,  and  female  No.  414;  the  harlequin  duck,  two 
males  No.  328  and  685  and  a  female  No.  382;  the  American  scoter,  two 


41 

males  No.  331  and  330;  velvet  scoter,  male  and  female  No.  332  and 
333 ;  ruddy  duck,  three  males  No.  335,  336,  620. 

In  the  next  panel  are  a  number  of  geese  as  follows:  The  lesser 
snow  goose,  male  No.  296;  greater  snow  goose,  male  No.  882;  blue 
goose,  male  No.  297;  Canada  goose,  male  No.  299;  Hutchin's  goose, 
male  No.  300;  white  fronted  goose,  male  No.  298;  whooping  swan, 
male  No.  295;  whistling  swan,  male  No.  294;  brant,  male  and  female 
No.  301  and  426,  874  and  875. 


The  Wood  Duck. 

In  the  next  panel  are  shown  three  American  flamingoes,  two  males 
No.  369  and  412 ;  and  a  female  No.  769  from  the  Zoological  Gardens 
in  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

The  next  case,  No.  43,  contains  an  exhibit  of  several  hundred 
species  of  birds'  eggs  and  nests.  (A  complete  catalog  is  published  in 
the  museum  report  for  1911-1912,  p.  52).  They  are  displayed  on  glass 
shelves  in  glass  dishes  in  order  that  the  eggs  may  be  seen  from  below 
as  fell  as  from  above. 


42 

In  size  they  vary  from  the  six  inches  long  ostrich  eggs  to  the 
minute  hummingbirds  eggs  which  are  about  as  large  as  hazel  nuts. 

Many  of  these  eggs  and  nests  have  come  as  gifts  from  the  collec- 
tors. Many  of  them  have  been  purchased.  Some  were  received  as 
exchanges.  Altogether  the  collection  shows  great  variety  in  size,  color 
and  markings. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  long  case,  Case  44,  crossing  the  room 
are  the  following  series  of  birds :  white  ibis  Nos.  377  and  609 ;  glossy 
ibis  No.  235;  wood  ibis,  male  and  female,  Nos.  233  and  234;  roseate 
spoonbill  Nos.  373  and  374.  Three  bitterns  are  shown,  the  American 
bittern  No.  244;  least  bittern,  male  and  female  Nos.  245  and  527. 
The  great  blue  heron  which  is  still  abundant  in  the  State  and  which 
fills  the  rookeries  yet  remaining  in  various  parts  of  the  State  with 
noisy,  loud  sounding  birds,  is  represented  by  four  specimens — two 
males  Nos.  635  and  366,  and  two  young  Nos.  236  and  646.  Next  comes 
the  snowy  heron  No.  238  and  Ward's  heron  No.  621. 

One  of  the  prized  birds  of  the  collection  and  one  which  unfortunately 
has  long  since  disappeared  from  the  State,  is  the  wild  turkey  No.  226. 
Within  a  few  years  the  last  of  the  wild  turkeys  in  the  State  were  killed  in 
the  southeastern  counties  along  the  valleys  of  the  Mississippi  River. 

Next  to  the  wall  is  a  case  No.  45,  filled  with  Illinois  woodpeckers. 
The  list  includes  some  species  now  extinct  in  this  State,  the  most  notice- 
able of  which  is  the  ivory -billed  woodpecker  Nos.  170  and  545,  so  called 
because  of  its  long,  ivory-like  bill,  most  effective  for  boring  for  insects  in 
the  wood  of  almost  any  tree.  Another  large  woodpecker  is  the  pileated 
woodpecker.  In  addition  to  these  the  following  are  shown :  the  downy 
woodpecker,  the  hairy  woodpecker,  the  Arctic  three-toed  woodpecker,  the 
redheaded  woodpecker,  the  yellow-bellied  woodpecker,  the  red-bellied 
woodpecker,  the  sap-sucker  and  six  flickers. 

In  the  bottom  of  the  case  are  a  series  of  bird  skeletons  among 
which  are  the  wild  turkey,  the  American  egret,  the  red-tailed  hawk, 
the  loon,  the  mallard  and  the  sandhill  crane. 

In  the  next  case,  Case  46,  are  shown  the  warblers  which  are 
so  numerous  and  so  varied  in  species  in  Illinois.  The  list  includes  sixty 
different  species.  All  are  interesting  because  of  their  ability  as 
songsters. 

In  the  lower  part  is  a  handsome  collection  of  grouse.  The  list 
is  as  follows:  Sage  grouse,  male  and  female  Nos.  880  and  881;  the 
dusky  grouse,  male  and  female  Nos.  866  and  867;  the  sharp-tailed 
grouse,  female  No.  229;  the  ruffed  grouse  No.  227;  and  the  prairie 
hen  Nos.  228  and  535. 

In  the  alcove  is  a  case,  No.  47,  containing  sandpipers,  sander- 
lings,  yellowlegs,  stilts  and  avocets. 

The  next  case,  No.  48,  contains  a  number  of  heron;  the 
little  blue  heron,  the  green  heron,  the  egrets  and  limpkins.  Proceeding 
in  order  are  the  sandpipers,  woodcocks,  phalaropes,  gallinules,  black 
rails,  yellow  rails,  Virginia  rails,  Carolina  rails  and  three  herons. 

In  the  next  cases,  49  and  50,  are  shown  plover,  curlew,  sand- 
piper and  willet. 


43 

In  the  bottom  of  Case  51  are  shown,  some  of  the  smaller  game 
birds  such  as  the  California  valley  partridge,  the  California  mountain 
partridge,  the  Messina  partridge  and  the  bob  white  so  abundant  in 
Illinois  and  so  prized  by  the  hunter.  There  is  also  shown  the  now 
extinct  passenger  pigeon.  These  pigeons  were  at  one  time  among  the 
most  numerous  of  the  bird  inhabitants  of  the  State.  Often  they  flew 
in  enormous  flocks  so  close  together  and  so  near  the  ground  that  far- 
mers would  knock  them  to  the  ground  with  fence  rails.  At  night  they 
have  been  known  to  roost  on  trees  in  such  great  numbers  as  to  bend 
down  and  break  off  the  branches  of  the  trees  upon  which  they  lit. 


Illinois  Woodpeckers — ivory  billed,  downy,  hairy,  red  headed,  pileated — and  flickers. 

Case  45. 

In  the  same  case  is  shown  the  mourning  dove,  whippoorwill,  chuck- 
wills-widow  and  western  night  hawk. 

In  the  upper  part  of  the  case  are  exhibited  about  one  hundred 
birds  such  as  the  red-winged  blackbird,  the  Baltimore  orioles,  the  gold 
finches,  siskins,  a  great  number  of  sparrows,  cardinals,  cowbirds,  bunt- 
ings, etc. 

In  Case  No.  52  are  shown  the  various  thrushes  such  as  Bicknell's 
thrush,  the  wood  thrush,  Wilson's  thrush,  the  hermit  thrush  and  the 


44 

bird  which  is  often  mistaken  for  a  thrush  namely  the  brown  thrasher. 
There  are  a  variety  of  interesting  swallows,  martins,  bluebirds,  tana- 
gers,  kingbirds,  wrens  and  vireos. 


The  Wild  Turkey  in  Case  44. 


In  the  lower  part    of    the    case  are  ravens,  crows,  blue  jays  and 
meadow  larks. 


45 

Next  to  these  in  Cases  53  to  56  arc  four  groups  of  birds  with 
natural  surroundings  and  transparent  backgrounds,  prepared  under 
the  direction  of  Julius  Freisser,  a  part  of  the  exhibit  already  described 
on  page  19  of  the  guide  and  also  on  page  6  of  the  Museum  Eeport 
for  1909  and  1910. 

The  bird  exhibition  is  closed  with  a  case,  No.  57,  of  foreign 
birds  and  one,  No.  58,  of  peacocks  and  pheasants.  In  this  group 
are  some  of  the  most  wonderfully  colored  birds.  The  scarlet  ibis,  the 
king  bird  of  paradise,  the  rifle  bird  of  paradise,  the  kssor  bird  of 
paradise,  the  cock  of  the  rock,  the  purple  breasted  cotinga,  the  purple 
throated  cotinga,  the  green  toucan,  the  grass  parrokeet,  the  leadbeaters 
cockatoo  and  a  fine  series  of  humming  birds. 

No  bird  is  more  striking  than  the  peacock  which  was  originally 
found  in  India.  A  large  number  of  kinds  of  pheasants,  a  few  samples 
of  which  are  here  shown,  are  being -cultivated  in  this  State  at  the 
State  game  farm. 

One  of  the  most  attractive  pheasants  in  this  State  is  the  beautiful 
ring-necked  pheasant.  Less  common  are  the  copper  pheasant,  the 
Impeyan  pheasant,  the  blue-breasted  pheasant,  the  golden  pheasant, 
the  silver  pheasant,  Swinhoe  pheasant  and  the  argus  pheasant. 

MINERAL  EXHIBIT. 

In  the  center  of  the  room  are  six  cases,  Nos.  59  to  65,  con- 
taining an  exhibit  of  the  most  abundant,  most  typical  or  most  useful 
minerals.  Minerals  are  the  most  abundant  things  in  the  world.  All 
animal  life,  all  vegetation,  all  the  works  of  man  if  put  together  would 
form  an  enormous  mass.  But  if  in  another  pile  were  placed  the  min- 
erals, the  first  pile  would  be  so  small  in  comparison  as  to  be  invisible. 
Fortunately  for  the  student  the  number  of  the  different  kinds  of 
minerals  is  small.  While  more  than  one  million  different  animals 
have  been  studied  and  described,  the  different  species  of  minerals  do 
not  amount  to  much  more  than  one  thousand,  and  of  this  number  not 
more  than  one  hundred  are  common  or  abundant ! 

These  one  hundred  are  represented  in  their  most  typical  and 
characteristic  condition  in  the  six  A  cases.  They  are  arranged  according 
to  their  composition  first  and  according  to  their  form  next.  The  main 
divisions  are  called  classes.  All  minerals  are  contained  in  fourteen 
classes.  The  first  class  shown  is  that  of  the  Elements,  Class  I.  They 
are  the  minerals  which  cannot  be  made  by  putting  together  other  sub- 
stances. They  are  simule  in  substance — composed  of  just  one  thing. 
Here  are  shown  the  diamond,  graphite,  sulphur,  arsenic,  antimony, 
bismuth,  silver,  gold,  copper,  iron  and  platinum.  -Other  chemical 
elements  are  for  the  most  part  gaseous  at  ordinary  temperature  and 
hence  are  not  shown. 

The  next  class,  Class  II,  The  Sulphides  contains  those  minerals 
which  are  made  by  .Nature  by .. combining  sulphur  with  various  other 
elements.  The  most  abundant  and  important  sulphides  are  the  follow- 
ing: realgar,  orpiment,  stibnite,  molybdenite,  galena,  sphalerite,  cin- 
nabar, millerite,  pyrrhotite,  chalcpsite,  pyrite,  marcasite,  arsenopyrite, 
nicpllit,  smaltite  and  chloanthite. 


46 

Class  III  known  as  the  class  of  Sulphur  Salts  contains  pyrargyrite, 
proustite,  tetrahedrite — minerals  which  are  formed  by  the  union  of 
sulphur  with  two  or  more  metallic  elements. 

The  next  group,  Class  IV,  the  Haloids,  includes  minerals  resulting 
from  the  union  of  chlorine,  bromine,  iodine  or  fluorite  with  certain 
metallic  elements.  The  most  important  minerals  in  this  class  are 
halite,  sylvite,  cryolite  and  fluorite. 


Class  V  contains  such  minerals  as  are  formed  by  the  union  of 
various  metallic  elements  with  oxygen  and  hence  is  called  the  class  of 
the  Oxides.  In  it  are  several  of  the  most  important  minerals  in  the 
world.  The  most  abundant  of  all  substances  is  quartz.  It  composes 
78  per  cent  of  the  earth's  crust.  It  is  found  in  many  forms,  some  of 


4? 

great  beauty — clear  rhombohedral  quartz,  smoky  quartz,  amethyst, 
etc.,  or  the  chalcedonic  varieties,  chalcedony,  agate,  carnelian,  helio- 
trope, jasper.  It  occurs  in  boundless  quantities  as  chert,  flint,  quartz- 
ite,  sand,  etc.  Other  important  oxides  are  hematite,  rutile,  ilmenite, 
cassiterite,  pyrolusite,  limonite,  gothite,  spinel,  corundum,  etc. 

The  next  class  is  Class  VI,  the  Carbonates,  a  group  containing 
minerals  of  great  abundance  the  chief  of  which  is  calcite,  the  third 
most  common  mineral  in  the  world.  There  may  be  mentioned  also 
siderite,  witherite,  cerussite  and  aragonite. 

The  group  containing  the  greatest  number  of  species  is  Class  VII, 
Silicates,  of  which  there  are  about  fifty  common  ones  of  great  import- 
ance because  they  are  rock  forming  minerals. 

First  and  foremost  come  the  feldspars,  orthoclase,  microline  and 
plagioclase,  then  the  group  of  the  amphiboles  and  the  pyroxenes. 
Hardly  less  important  are  the  micas — muscovite,  pholopite  and  biotite. 
Sodalite,  hauyne,  analcite,  chabazite,  apophyllite,  harmotome,  zircon, 
garnets,  cyanite,  staurolite,  sillimanite,  sphene,  and  topaz  are  also 
very  common  and  characteristic  of  certain  rocks. 

The  following  classes  are  of  less  importance  than  the  others 
namely : 

Class  VIII,  the  Niobates  and  Tantalates  Class  X,  the  Borates  and 
TIranates,  Class  XII,  the  Tungstates  and  Molybdates  and  Class  XIII, 
the  Oxalates  and  Mellates.  Of  great  value  commercially  is  the  class 
of  Phosphates,  Class  IX,  since  in  it  occurs  the  mineral  apatite  one  of 
the  best  sources  of  phosphorus. 

The  next  class  of  importance  is  that  of  the  Sulphates,  Class  XI, 
which  contains  several  minerals  of  abundance.  Of  these  gypsum, 
baryte  and  witherite  are  among  the  most  useful. 

And  finally  there  is  the  great  group  contained  in  Class  XIV,  the 
Hydrocarbons,  coal,  petroleum,  gas,  asphalt  and  related  products. 
No  minerals  are  more  important  for  the  human  race. 


TREE  EXHIBIT  IN  GALLERY. 


CASES  67  TO  69  ON  PLATFORM. 

In  the  gallery  of  the  main  auditorium  of  the  Arsenal  is  displayed 
a  collection  of  practically  all  of  the  trees  which  grow  in  Illinois — not 
only  those  which  are  native,  but  those  which  are  commonly  cultivated. 
One  hundred  fifty  varieties  are  embraced  in  the  collection.  This  is  a 
surprisingly  large  number  and  more  than  is  found  in  many  States. 
The  State  being  385  miles  long  from  north  to  south,  gives  opportunity 
for  a  greater  variety  than  if  its  chief  dimensions  were  in  an  east  and 
west  direction.  At  one  time  forests  were  much  more  extensive  in  the 
State  than  at  present.  Today  stretches  of  country  which  were  covered 
with  forests,  are  now  dotted  with  groves  which  are  not  much  more  than 
wood  lots  for  a  farmer,  though  in  some  regions  as  for  example  in  the 
southwest  part  of  the  State,  there  are  still  considerable  tracts  occupied 
exclusively  by  trees. 

The  wooded  portions  are  usually  along  stream  banks  and  on  hill 
sides  the  uplands  being  more  largely  devoid  of  cultivation  or  occupied 
by  grass  grown  prairies.  Thanks  to  the  help  of  tree  planting  however, 
many  regions  which  were  formerly  destitute  of  trees  are  now  being 
rewooded.  It  is  a  wise  and  beneficial  custom  to  line  city  streets  and 
country  roads  with  a  great  variety  of  handsome  trees. 

The  exhibit  consists  of  sections  of  the  trunks  of  the  various  trees, 
varying  from  one  to  four  feet  in  diameter  and  being  uniformly  three 
feet  high.  The  sections  show  the  longitudinal  and  oblique  and  a  trans- 
verse cutting,  one-half  of  the  face  being  varnished  and  the  other  half 
natural.  There  are  also  sections  one  and  one-half  feet  in  height.  On 
the  majority  of  the  specimens  there  is  fastened  an  illustration  showing 
on  the  left  a  picture  of  the  leaves  and  fruit  and  on  the  right  a  picture 
of  the  trunk  of  the  tree.  Below  the  picture  of  the  trunk  is  a  magni- 
fied cross  section  of  the  wood  as  seen  under  a  microscope.  A  map  is 
given  showing  the  localities  in  which  the  tree  is  accustomed  to  grow 
and  above  this  map  is  a  description  of  the  tree.  In  this  way  a  student 
may  readily  distinguish  the  various  trees.  One  wishing  to  become 
acquainted  may  bring  leaves  to  the  museum  and  in  the  presence  of  these 
specimens  and  pictures  may  accurately  and  readily  determine  the  name 
of  the  tree  under  investigation. 

In  the  exhibit  are  15  different  kinds  of  oaks  out  of  the  19  varieties 
which  are  known  to  grow  in  the  State. 

Four  different  kinds  of  ash — black  ash,  mountain  ash,  water  ash 
and  white  ash  are  displayed.  Beeches,  birches,  buckeyes,  butternuts, 
catalpas,  cherry,  chestnut,  crabapple,  cucumber,  cypress,  elms  (such  as 
white  elm,  the  rock  elm,  the  slippery  elm,  and  winged  elm),  the  gum, 


49 

the  huckleberry,  the  haw,  the  hemlock,  the  hickories  (such  as  the  shell- 
bark,  the  big  shellbark  and  white  heart),  the  ironwood,  the  juneberry, 
the  larch,  the  lime  tree,  the  locust  (honey  locust  and  yellow  locust), 
the  maple  (black  maple,  red  maple,  rock  maple,  swamp  maple,  white 
maple),  the  mulberry,  osage  orange,  paradise  tree,  pawpaw,  pecan, 
pepperidge,  persimmon,  poplar,  redbud,  sassafras,  surface,  sumac,  syca- 
more, thorn,  tulip,  tupelo,  umbrella  tree,  the  walnut,  willow  (peach, 
silky  and  white  willow)  and  such  trees  as  the  arbor  vitae,  red  cedar, 
gray  pine,  Norway  spruce  and  white  spruce. 


S  M 


50 


TREES  OF  ILLINOIS  AND  OTHER  STATES. 


One  who  has  given  the  subject  of  trees  in  the  United  States  atten- 
tion, is  impressed  with  their  wonderful  variety,  with  their  former 
abundance  and  present  sufficiency,  with  their  beauty  of  form  and  of 
color  and  with  their  utility. 

The  giant  trees  of  California — the  redwoods  and  sequoias;  the 
wierd  southern  forests  of  Louisiana  and  the  Gulf  states ;  the  deep  woods 
of  northern  New  England,  New  York  and  Michigan;  and  the  groves 
still  remaining  in  Illinois  and  other  Mississippi  valley  states,  furnish 
a  complete  picture  of  the  trees  of  North  America. 

Unknown  to  many  a  citizen  of  Illinois,  there  are  regions  in  our 
State  still  covered  with  forests  extensive  enough  for  a  visitor  therein 
to  lose  himself.  The  writer  at  one  time  following  a  country  road 
through  a  forest,  determined  to  work  his  way  into  a  wild  portion  so  as 
to  lose  sight  of  houses,  roads  and  all  indications  of  the  presence  of  man. 
The  spot  chosen  was  so  thick  with  trees  that  after  taking  a  few  steps 
all  sign  of  the  road  had  disappeared.  Advance  could  be  made  but  a 
few  feet  in  any  direction  without  turning,  so  close  were  the  trunks  of 
the  trees.  Here  were  seedlings  as  thick  as  the  finger,  saplings  as  large 
as  the  wrist,  fifteen  year  old  trees  with  trunks  as  thick  as  a  man's  body 
and  two  hundred  year  old  sycamores  so  large  that  four  men  could  with 
difficulty  reach  around  them.  Brown  trunks,  green,  gray,  white,  or 
almost  black.  Leaves  almost  touching  the  ground,  multitudes  to  right, 
to  left,  in  front,  overhead,  underneath,  "thick  strewn  as  leaves  in 
Vallambrosa."  Branches  so  low  that  a  fox  could  with  difficulty  go 
under  them  and  others  so  high  as  to  shut  out  the  heavens.  Oak, 
hickory,  ash,  maple,  elm,  cottonwood,  aspen  poplar,  willow,  walnut, 
birch,  beech,  hackberry,  mulberry,  sassafras,  thorn,  cherry,  locust  and 
many  others  were  within  the  limits  of  that  area.  A  few  steps  further 
and  an  uprooted  giant  covered  with  lichens,  lay  rotting  on  the  ground 
where  he  had  fallen,  carrying  to  destruction  many  of  his  neighbors,  like 
some  great  man  whose  downfall  had  ruined  the  fortunes  of  those  near 
him  and  the  happiness  of  people  dependent  upon  him.  Green  luxuriant 
moss,  leaves  from  neighboring  trees,  and  cork-like  lichens  were  vying 
to  bury  him. 

The  depth  of  the  forest,  its  dark  and  quiet  coolness  recalled  Long- 
fellow's 

"This  is  the  forest  primeval! 

The  murmuring  pines  and  hemlocks,  bearded  with  moss 
Stand  like  Druids  of  old  with  voices  sad  and  pathetic." 


51 

Or  Byron's  lines 

"There  is  a  pleasure  in  the  pathless  woods 

There  is  a  rapture  on  the  silent  shore 
There  is  a  solitude  where  none  intrudes 
By  the  deep  sea  and  music  in  its  roar." 

The  air  was  still,  the  world  seemed  far  away  and  the  writer  sat 
on  the  fallen  tree,  noting  the  shapes  of  the  leaves,  their  color,  their  mass 
effects,  their  light  and  shade.  He  pushed  his  cane  far  down  into  the 
soft  mold,  formed  by  the  dying  leaves,  and  thought  of  what  vast  im- 
portance is  the  preservation  of  this  leaf  mold  which  covers  the  ground 
with  its  sponge-like  mass  and  absorbs  the  most  heavy  rainfall,  to  let 
it  out  gradually  later.  Were  it  not  for  the  clearing  of  the  forests 
and  the  washing  away  of  this  spongy  covering  in  Ohio  and  other  states, 
there  would  have  been  no  Dayton  flood  and  other  similar  floods  in 
the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  valleys  in  recent  years — floods  which  cause 
loss  of  property  amounting  to  millions  of  dollars  and  the  loss  of  life 
whose  value  cannot  be  measured  by  money.  As  I  sat  on  that  prostrate 
tree  a  gentle  rain  beginning  to  fall,  brought  this  picture  up.  My  atten- 
tion was  arrested  by  a  noise  behind  a  tree.  With  trepidation  I 
endeavored  to  ascertain  the  cause.  Was  it  a  bear  or  wolf  or  wild  cat? 
Peering  cautiously  this  way  and  that,  I  discovered  that  it  was  simply 
a  squirrel.  Continuing  my  steps  in  the  supposed  direction  of  home  I 
soon  noticed  that  I  was  undoubtedly  lost.  However,  after  wandering 
about  for  an  hour  or  so  I  heard  a  railroad  train  whistling  and  by  noting 
its  whistle  on  three  different  occasions,  I  was  guided  in  the  right 
direction  and  after  some  time  found  my  way  home. 

A  million  acres  in  Illinois  are  still  covered  with  forests.  Thirty- 
eight  per  cent  of  Alexander,  county  is  forested,  37  per  cent  of  Johnson, 
34  per  cent  of  Pulaski.* 

Probably  in  no  state  in  the  Union  is  there  a  greater  variety  of  trees 
than  are  to  be  found  in  Illinois.  One  hundred  and  fifty  varieties  are 
known  and  described  and  the  majority  of  them  are  on  exhibition  in  the 
State  Museum. 

The  oaks  are  the  most  numerous  of  all  our  trees.  They  furnish 
the  greatest  amount  of  wood  and  contain  the  largest  number  of  species, 
nineteen.  (Fourteen  of  these  are  represented  in  the  museum  collec- 
tion.) The  hickories  are  the  next  in  number  of  species,  there  being 
nine.  There  .are  five  varieties  of  ash  and  five  of  maple.  Four  species 
of  elm  are  represented.  Then  come  the  poplars,  cottonwoods,  aspens, 
willows,  walnuts,  birch,  beech,  hackberry,  mulberry,  osage  orange, 
cucumber,  sassafras,  sweet  gum,  crab,  thorn,  haw,  plum,  cherry,  locust, 
buckeye,  basswood,  linden,  catalpa,  sumach,  hornbean,  witchhazel, 
wahoo,  dogwood,  viburnum,  pine,  cypress,  juniper,  etc.  All  of  these 
may  readily  be  studied  in  the  museum  collection.  One  wishing  to  see 
the  largest  possible  variety  of  these  trees  growing  together  would  go 
to  the  southeastern  part  of  the  State  where  within  short  distances 
100  varieties  of  trees  may  be  found. 

Southern  forests  are  today  more  extensive  than  those  remaining 
in  most  of  the  Mississippi  valley  states.  They  do  not  seem  so  attractive 

*See  Bulletin  Illinois  State  Laboratory  Nat.  Hist.,  v.  IX,  4,  p.  178. 


52 

as  do  the  forests  farther  north.  True  they  are  picturesque  with  mistle- 
toe and  Spanish  moss.  But  they  lack  the  brightness  and  friendliness 
of  northern  forests  and  suggest  dark  days,  disaster  and  mourning. 
Many  of  their  trees  attain  a  considerable  height,  some  of  the  largest 
exceeding  one  hundred  feet  in  elevation.  The  palms,  palmetto,  man- 
grove, eucalyptus,  cypress,  sweet  gum,  ebony  and  mahogany  are  trees 
of  often  curious  shape,  of  strange  appearance  and  their  wood  is  of  great 
value.  Without  some  of  their  products  the  world  would  be  many  times 
poorer.  One  of  the  chief  contributions  which  the  southern  pine  forests 
make  to  the  welfare  of  the  world,  has  been  turpentine  and  other  naval 
supplies.  Without  them  in  the  past  ship  building  in  the  country  would 
have  been  wellnigh  impossible. 

Undoubtedly  the  most  unusual  and  wonderful  trees  in  the  world 
are  the  sequoias  and  redwoods  of  California.  The  redwoods  grow  near 
the  coast  and  the  sequoias  at  an  elevation  of  some  five  thousand  feet 
above  sea  level.  Europe  has  nothing  to  compare  with  trees  of  this  kind. 
So  remarkable  is  their  size  that  fiction  is  not  much  stranger  than  fact 
when  discussing  them.  A  gentleman  visiting  a  grove  of  these  giants 
in  the  Mariposa  forest,  started  to  walk  around  one  of  the  trees.  It  is 
said  that  he  found  the  distance  so  great  that  he  had  to  sit  down  to 
rest.  His  camp  was  made  near  one  of  the  largest  trees  and  the  next 
time  he  started  around  one  he  kised  his  wife  goodbye.  A  cattle  driver, 
driving  several  hundred  cattle  to  market,  came  to  a  stream  so  broad 
and  deep  as  to  bar  further  progress.  Looking  up  the  river  he  was  glad 
to  discover  that  a  sequoia  had  fallen  across  the  stream.  Upon  examina- 
tion the  trunk  appeared  to  be  open  at  both  ends  so  that  the  cattle  could 
be  driven  through  and  across.  He  thought  this  a  good  opportunity  to 
count  the  cattle  and  placed  one  of  his  men  at  the  farther  end  of  the 
tree  on  the  other  bank,  while  he  remained  at  the  opening  on  this  side 
of  the  river.  Upon  finishing  his  count  at  the  far  end  the  man  reported 
three  hundred  less  than  the  number  which  had  entered  the  tree. 
Distant  lowing  was  heard  and  what  was  the  surprise  of  the  cattleman 
to  discover  that  three  hundred  of  the  cattle  had  wandered  up  one  of 
the  branches  of  the  tree  and  they  had  become  lost.  In  the  presence  of 
these  mighty  trees  one  understands  the  reason  for  such  stories.  Some 
sequoias  attain  a  height  of  325  feet  and  a  diameter  of  30  feet  and  the 
surprising  thing  is  that  such  gigantic  trunks  should  belong  to  trees  with 
the  smallest  of  leaves.  The  leaves  in  some  cases  are  less  than  a  quar- 
ter of  an  inch  in  length.  Sequoias  are  regarded  as  the  oldest  of  all 
living  things,  some  of  them  having  sprung  from  seeds  before  the  birth 
of  Christ.  A  number  are  thought  to  be  more  than  two  thousand  years 
of  age.  In  various  California  forests  there  are  many  thousands  of 
them.  Their  wood  is  valuable  but  of  course  the  total  furnished  by 
them,  giants  though  they  be,  is  small  in  comparison  with  the  amount 
of  wood  furnished  by  the  multitudes  of  smaller  trees  throughout  the 
country.  The  cords  of  wood  and  the  feet  of  lumber  supplied  by  the 
comparatively  smaller  trees,  are  so  numerous  as  the  bury  all  the 
sequoias  of  the  world  a  million  times  over. 


What  the  world  would  be  without  trees  may  be  surmised  by  d 
person  who  wanders  through  the  desert  places  of  the  world.  Barren, 
unattractive  and  even  hostile  appears  a  landscape  devoid  of  them. 

How  useful  they  are!  They  furnish  us  food — the  orange,  lemon, 
lime  and  grape  fruit;  the  banana,  fig  and  date;  the  apple,  peach,  pear, 
plum,  cherry,  mulberry;  the  pawpaw;  persimmon;  the  cocoanut,  hickory 
nut,  walnut,  butternut,  Brazil  nut  and  pecan.  They  furnish  us  fuel. 
Millions  of  cords  of  wood  have  been  burned  from  time  immemorial 
annually.  They  were  the  first  fuel.  Man  would  be  more  like  other  ani- 
mals if  he  had  not  learned  to  make  fire.  In  many  places  of  the  world  the 
chief  fuel  is  still  that  furnished  by  wood.  Trees  supply  the  favorite 
building  material,  being  so  easily  worked,  so  readily  transported  and 
so  artistically  handled.  Were  it  not  for  them  in  newer  countries 
fewer  people  would  own  houses.  To  mention  all  the  uses  to  which  the 
products  of  the  forests  are  put,  would  require  much  space  but  we  may 
call  attention  to  one  use  which,  were  it  to  fail,  would  leave  the  world 
poor  indeed.  That  use  is  in  the  manufacture  of  paper.  The  use  of 
paper  marks  the  level  of  civilization.  Without  paper  there  would  be 
no  books  or  magazines  or  newspapers.  And  what  would  the  world  be 
without  them. 

As  we  think  of  the  slow  growth  of  trees,  of  their  easy  destruction 
and  of  their  great  usefulness,  we  are  inclined  to  cry  out  when  even 
one  tree  is  threatened  by  the  axeman  "Woodman  spare  that  tree ! 
Touch  not  a  single  bough,"  whether  or  not  "in  youth  it  sheltered"  us. 
We  believe  in  tree  planting,  in  tree  cultivation  and  in  tree  protection 
and  Arbor  Day  is  a  day  most  worthy  of  celebration  the  country  over! 


FACTS  AND  FANCIES  CONCERNING  WORLD  MAKING. 


The  question  as  to  whence  we  came  and  whither  we  are  going — 
what  was  the  beginning  and  what  will  be  the  end  of  the  world — has 
been  asked  doubtless  ever  since  men  began  to  think.  How  were  the 
stars  made  and  how  the  earth  ?  The  answers  have  been  various,  depend- 
ing upon  the  amount  of  information  or  the  amount  of  imagination  of 
the  person  supplying  the  answer.  To  allow  the  imagination  to  deal 
with  the  subject  has  never  been  difficult.  No  doubt  the  early  shepherds 
watching  their  flocks  at  night,  gazed  long  into  the  heavens  and 
dreamed  of  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  the  world. 

But  to  obtain  facts  bearing  on  the  question  has  been  a  laborious 
process.  No  one  was  present  at  the  creation  of  the  world !  No  photo- 
grapher was  there  to  snap  the  passing  events,  nor  reporter  to  tell  of 
each  day's  progress,  nor  historian  to  relate  how  "the  morning  stars  sang 
together."  I  used  to  think  that  several  thousand  years  ago  people 
might  have  had  a  better  idea  of  the  creation  and  of  cosmogony,  than 
they  do  now,  since  they  were  nearer  to  the  beginning  of  things.  But 
now  I  know  that  such  is  not  the  case.  The  older  the  world  grows,  the 
wiser  men  become  because  they  come  into  possession  of  a  larger  number 
of  facts. 

Babylonians,  Hebrews,  Egyptians,  Greeks,  Hindoos  and  Chinese 
in  turn  had  curious  conceptions  of  the  creation  and  of  the  present 
condition  of  the  world.  They  thought  that  the  world  was  made  by  a 
series  of  edicts  and  in  a  short  time.  They  considered  it  to  be  flat  like 
a  great  plain  or  disk  and  that  above  it  the  heaven  is  spread  like  a  dome, 
in  which  are  suspended  lamps  for  the  day  and  night.  The  idea  is  a 
natural  one.  The  heaven  looks  as  if  such  were  the  case  and  children 
today  think  that  the  moon  is  a  hanging  lamp  and  try  to  grasp  it  or  with 
a  puff  of  the  breath  to  blow  it  out. 

The  ancients  had  their  troubles  when  they  began  to  explain  how 
the  great  flat  disk  of  their  conception  was  supported.  Some  of  them 
taught  that  four  great  elephants  hold  up  the  four  corners  of  the  disk. 
But  what  holds  up  the  elephants  ?  A  great  tortoise.  But  what  supports 
the  tortoise?  A  monstrous  snake.  So  one  thing  demanded  another 
until  those  philosophers  were  lost  in  the  clouds.  The  Greeks  were  no 
better  off  with  Atlas  carrying  the  world  on  his  shoulders.  There  was 
a  poverty  of  facts  upon  which  to  found  conclusion.  Men  had  dreams 
and  "opinions,"  although  an  old  Greek  philosopher  hundreds  of  years 
before  Christ,  had  warned  them  that  "opinions  are  dangerous,  Experi- 
ence is  the  thing/ 

The  man  with  opinions,  the  dreamer,  has  not  disappeared  yet,  but 
fortunately  the  number  of  men  who  have  exact  knowledge,  has  been 


55 

increasing.  Copernicus  (D.  1543)  came  along  with  facts  in  regard  to 
the  support  of  the  earth,  the  revolution  of  the  planets  and  other  astro- 
nomical phenomena.  Kepler  (D.  1630)  made  accurate  studies  and 
was  able  to  formulate  so  many  astronomical  laws  that  he  was  nicknamed 
the  "law-maker  of  the  heavens."  La  Place  (D.  1827)  pursued  astro- 
nomical studies  successfully  and  suggested  an  ingenious  theory  of  the 
origin  of  the  solar  system.  For  many  years  this  theory — the  nebular 
hypothesis — was  the  most  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  origin  of  the 
world.  But  during  recent  years,  by  means  of  splendid  telescopes,  of 
accurate  measuring  machines,  of  microscopes,  and  by  the  use  of  photo- 
graphy in  astronomical  observations,  as  well  as  because  of  the  increase 
in  knowledge  of  various  kinds  in  many  kindred  sciences,  information 
in  regard  to  the  heavens  and  the  earth  has  grown  so  remarkably  that 
we  now  have  a  better  theory  than  the  nebular  hypothesis.  Astronomers, 
physicists,  chemists  and  geologists  have  all  been  working  carefully 
with  these  problems  and  men  of  many  nations  have  made  contribu- 
tion of  facts — the  Russians  and  Italians,  a  small  number;  Austrians 
and  French  more;  the  Germans,  English  and  Americans  the  most. 

If  we  take  these  facts  and  put  them  down  as  points  on  a  great 
chart,  as  Frank  Beard  the  cartoonist  used  to  do  before  chautauqua 
audiences  when  drawing  pictures  in  their  presence,  we  will  have  the 
basis  of  a  wonderful  picture  of  the  creation  of  the  world.  Connecting 
some  of  the  points  with  main  lines,  others  with  lighter  lines  and  omit- 
ting some  others,  we  obtain  a  picture  of  the  creation.  It  may  vary 
somewhat  according  to  the  way  in  which  we  draw  our  connecting  lines. 
But  the  points  are  there.  They  are  the  facts.  They  do  not  change. 
Whatever  picture  we  make  with  them  is  the  most  satisfactory  which 
has  thus  far  been  produced.  The  story  which  it  relates  may  not  "sing" 
as  well  as  does  the  Mosaic  .account.  If  Handel  were  writing  another 
oratoria  of  "The  Creation,"  he  might  be  compelled  to  change  his  music 
somewhat.  But  the  story  told  by  this  picture  is  satisfying  because  it 
is  founded  upon  accurate  measurement,  accurate  weighing  and  well- 
established  laws  of  the  universe.  This  story  is  somewhat  as  follows: 

The  heavens  are  full  of  stars,  planets  and  other  bodies  of  infinite 
variety  and  size.  These  bodies  are  in  constant  motion.  At  times  they 
approach  each  other.  Sometimes  they  collide.  When  great  masses 
come  within  certain  distances  of  each  other,  their  mutual  attractions 
cause  tides,  just  as  the  moon  does  in  revolving  around  the  earth.  At 
one  time  in  the  remote  past,  two  suns  revolving  through  space  came 
so  near  to  each  other  that  their  mutual  attractions  drew  out  great 
mases  of  their  fiery  material  to  such  an  extent  that  these  fragments, 
large  and  small,  became  separated  from  the  parent  mass.  As  the  suns 
proceeded  on  their  course,  these  fragments  scattered  through  space, 
continued  their  independent  revolutions  in  the  form  of  a  stupendous 
spiral.  The  heavens  are  today  filled  with  these  spiral  nebulae.  One 
hundred  twenty  thousand  are  now  known  to  exist.  Our  solar  system 
came  from  one  of  them.  The  parent  spiral  consisted  of  a  large  central 
mass,  having  two  main  arms  nearly  at  right  angles  to  each  other, 
composed  of  large  knots  of  meteoric  matter,  smaller  knots,  and  particles 
down  to  the  most  minute  size.  All  of  these  materials  had  revolutions 


56 

which  were  the  result  of  the  original  motions  of  the  parent  suns  and 
of  their  effects  on  one  another.  As  their  revolutions  continued,  the 
central  mass  gave  rise  to  our  sun;  the  larger  knots  gave  rise  to  the 
planets;  the  smaller  masses  lying  in  the  path  of  these  planets,  were 
drawn  into  the  planets  by  the  force  of  gravity  acting  in  conjunction 
with  their  motion;  the  larger  materials,  near  enough  to  the  planets  to 
be  influenced  by  them,  formed  their  satellites ;  .  and  those  farther 
removed  gave  rise  to  the  asteroids. 

According  to  this  account,  which  is  called  the  "planetesimal  hypo- 
thesis"* by  Chamberlin  and  Moulton  its  originators  and  which  will 
be  taught  to  the  coming  generations  of  children  instead  of  the 
nebular  hypothesis,  which  has  proven  to  be  inadequate,  the  earth 
never  was  a  molten  mass.  It  was  built  of  solid  particles.  These 
particles  act  like  little  planets  and  consequently  are  named  planetesi- 
mals.  As  they  were  added  to  the  original  nucleus  it  finally  became 
large  enough  to  hold  gasses  and  an  atmosphere  was  formed.  Then 
as  it  grew  in  size  the  particles  pressed  and  settled  together  and  in 
so  doing  developed  such  great  heat  as  to  fuse  certain  portions  and  thus 
cause  volcanic  activity;  various  gases  were  set  free,  among  them  hydro- 
gen and  oxygen,  which  united  to  make  water.  Oceans  were  formed. 
Finally  life  began  in  very  simple  character,  doubtless  having  been 
introduced  with  the  organic  matter  contained  in  the  infalling  meteor- 
ites. The  world  grew  apace  and  with  its  growth  of  size  there  came  an 
increase  of  heat.  Intense  volcanic  activity  resulted.  At  this  time  the 
oldest  rocks  now  known,  the  Archaean  rocks,  were  formed.  Finally 
by  the  action  of  water  one  series  after  another  of  the  sedimentary 
formations  were  laid  down.  Thus  the  seven  ages  of  man  find  their 
counterpart  in  the  seven  stages  of  the  earth's  formations.  1.  The 
nuclear  stage;  2.  the  atmospheric  stage;  3.  the  initial  volcanic  stage; 
4.  the  oceanic  stage;  5.  the  life  stage;  6.  the  violent  volcanic  stage; 
7.  the  sedimentary  stage. 

The  question  as  to  the  time  and  manner  of  the  introduction  of 
life  in  the  world,  has  always  been  an  interesting  and  baffling  one.  All 
that  is  known  is  that  life  was  introduced  in  extremely  simple  form. 
This  is  the  testimony  of  the  rocks  and  no  one  who  is  not  a  "car  window 
geologist"  or  a  cosy-chair  philosopher,  may  reach  any  other  conclusion. 
The  oldest  rocks  contain  the  remains  of  the  simplest  forms  of  life  only 
and  as  the  pages  of  the  rock-world  are  turned,  the  investigator  finds 
a  continually  advancing  form  of  life.  In  the  old  formations  are  to  be 
found  the  remains  of  sponges,  corals,  mollusks,  brachiopods,  cephalo- 
pods,  and  other  animals  of  simple  structure.  Fish,  reptiles  and  birds 
do  not  appear  till  much  later.  And  mammals  do  not  reach  their  maxi- 
mum development  until  the  present  time. 

As  one  looks  at  this  picture  he  is  impressed  with  the  long  periods 
of  time  involved  in  each  of  the  different  processes.  There  are  many 
methods  of  obtaining  some  conception  of  the  time  involved.  Various 
measuring  rods  have  been  employed.  One  is  obtained  by  studying 
rock-making  today.  In  some  places  rock  is  being  formed  by  the  deposi- 

*See    Moulton's    Introduction    to    Astronomy    and    Chamberlin    and    Salisbury's 
Geology. 


57 

tion  and  cementation  of  sands  and  gravel.  In  other  places,  for  example 
the  Yellowstone  Park,  deposits  are  formed  by  hot  springs.  The  rate 
of  growth  of  these  deposits  is  measured  and  gives  an  idea  of  the  time 
involved  in  the  formation  of  great  systems  of  rock.  Sandstones,  con- 
glomerates, limestones  shales  and  clays  have  been  laid  down  in  all 
continents  in  layers  so  massive  that  their  total  known  thickness  exceeds 
500,000  feet.  Dividing  this  total  by  the  average  rate  of  growth  shows 
that  more  than  100  millions  of  years  were  necessary  for  their  deposition. 

Another  measuring  rod  or  chronometer  is  obtained  by  the  study 
of  stream  cutting.  The  Niagara  River  furnishes  a  splendid  and  popular 
example  of  studies  of  this  kind. 

The  falls  have  cut  back  from  Lewistown  to  Niagara  Falls,  a  dis- 
tance of  12  miles.  The  rate  of  cutting  has  been  studied  for  nearly 
a  century.*  The  rate  of  cutting  seems  to  average  about  5  feet  a 
year.  Therefore  12,000  years  would  be  required  for  the  making  of 
Niagara  Gorge.  The  glaciers  which  covered  all  the  country  as  far  as 
the  Ohio  and  Missouri  Eivers  must  have  retreated  long  before  the 
cutting  began.  This  measure  of  time  gives  a  starting  point  for 
estimates  which  lead  back  to  the  beginning  of  things. 

Another  method  of  studying  the  time  involved  in  the  making  of 
the  earth,  is  that  which  consists  in  measuring  the  amount  of  salt  in 
the  sea.  When  the  oceans  were  first  formed  by  the  union  of  hydrogen 
and  oxygen,  liberated  by  the  fusing  planetesimals,  the  water  would  be 
comparatively  pure.  Streams  flowing  over  the  country  would  carry 
to  the  ocean  the  salts  picked  up  in  their  course.  The  amount  of  salt 
in  a  quart  of  sea  water  is  measured  and  is  multiplied  by  the  number 
of  quarts  of  water  in  the  oceans.  The  amount  of  salt  carried  annually 
by  the  rivers  of  the  world,  is  estimated  from  multitudes  of  observa- 
tions. This  amount  is  divided  into  the  salt  in  the  ocean  and  thus  the 
years  required  to  carry  the  present  salt  to  the  ocean,  is  arrived  at. 

Another  method  of  investigation  is  one  concerned  with  the  trans- 
formation of  one  chemical  into  another.  For  example,  radium  decom- 
poses giving  rise  to  helium,  uranium  disintegrates  to  form  lead.  The 
quantities  of  these  new  elements  in  a  given  mineral  are  measured  and 
the  time  required  for  the  transformation  is  estimated. 

Physicists  have  measured  the  loss  of  heat,  of  water,  of  atmosphere 
in  the  earth  and  the  rapidity  of  cooling  of  the  sun  and  thus  obtained 
a  measure  of  time.  Palaeontologists  measure  the  rate  of  change  in 
different  branches  of  animal  "family  trees"  and  reach  accurate  results. 

All  of  these  methods  agree  in  their  general  results  and  show  that 
the  earth  is  more  than  100  millions  of  years  old. 

Although  so  much  work  has  been  done  along  lines  concerned  with 
world  making,  yet  far  more  remains  to  be  done.  All  the  facts  obtained 
simply  serve  to  push  back  the  bounds  of  our  ignorance.  None  of  our 
facts  carry  us  to  the  "Primal  Cause."  We  always  start  with  original 
substances  and  follow  them  through  successive  stages. 

Other  worlds  came  as  did  ours,  just  as  one  rose  comes  like  another, 
or  one  orange,  or  one  canary  bird.  All  required  an  origin  or  starting 
point. 

*G.  K.  Gilbert,  U.  S.  G.  S.  Bulletin  306.     Rate  of  Recession  of  Niagara  Falls. 


58 

There  was  a  gathering  up  of  fragments,  heating,  melting,  cooling; 
then  life  in  the  ocean,  simple  in  character,  with  no  fit  land  for  land 
animals;  then  animals  half  in  half  out  of  the  water  (amphibians)  ; 
then  simple  land  animals;  then  better  types;  and  finally  man.  A  long, 
slow  process  it  was — "Though  the  mills  of  God  grind  slowly,  yet  they 
grind  exceeding  small !"  Chemical  and  physical  forces  were  at  work — 
the  power  of  crystallization  and  gravitation. 

Men  of  the  keenest  scientific  mind  and  of  the  most  profound  learn- 
ing say  with  Moses  "In  the  beginning  God  made  the  heavens  and  tbo 
earth."  "The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God  and  the  earth  showeth 
His  handiwork."  "One  unceasing  purpose  runs"  through  all  the  uni- 
verse, and  every  thoughtful  man  may  well  say  to  himself: 
"Build  thee  more  stately  mansions,  Oh,  my  soul ! 

As  the  swift  seasons  roll, 

Leave  thy  low-vaulted  past. 

Let  each  new  temple,  nobler  than  the  last 

Shut  thee  from  heaven  with  a  dome  more  vast, 

Till  thou  at  length  are  free, 

Leaving  thine  outgrown   shell  by  life's  unresting  sea !" 


INDEX. 


PAGE. 

Acadian  Owl,  Glaux  acadicus 38 

Admission,  Hours  of 3 

Agate 47 

Albinos 25 

Alcoholic  Specimens 21 

Alligator,  A  lligator  Mississippienus 20 

Alston's  Opossum  (Kangaroo  Mouse),  Caluro- 

mys  alstoni 23 

American  Buffalo,  Bos  A  mericanus 32 

American  Eel,  A  riguilla  vulgaris 21 

Amethyst 47 

Ammonites 35 

Amphibole 47 

Analcite 47 

Anhinga,  Anhinga  anhinga 40 

Antelope 18, 32 

Antelope  Horns 18 

Antimony 45 

Apatite 47 

Apophylite 47 

Aragonite ...  47 

Arbor  Vitae 49 

Archaeological  Collections 37 

Armadillo.  Tatum  novemdnctum 23 

Arrowheads 37 

Arsenic 45 

Arsenopyrite 45 

Ash,  Black 48 

Mountain 48 

Water 48 

White 48 

Asphalt 47 

Avocet,  Recurvirostra  A  mericana 42 

AxeHeads ...  37 


Baboon,  Pa-pis  cynocephalus 29 

Badger,  Taxidea  taxus 28 

Baldpate,  Mareca  Americana 40 

Baltimore  Oriole,  Icterus  glabula 43 

Barn  Owl,  Strix  pratinocola 38 

Barycrinus 36 

Baryte 47 

Baskets 37 

Bat,  Hoary.  Lasiurus  cincereus 29 

Bat,  Red,  Lasiurus  borealis 29 

Beaver,  Caster  Canadensis 33 

Beeches 48 

Biotite 47 

Birches 48 

Birds  Eggs 41 

Bismuth 45 

Bittern,  American,  Botaurus  lentiginosus 42 

Least,  Ixobrychus  exilis 42 

Black  Bass,  Micropterus  salmoides 20, 21 

Black  Bear,  Ursus  A  mericanus 30 

Blackbird,  Red- Winged,  Agelaius  phoeniceus..  43 

Black  Crappie,  Pomoxis  annularis 20 

Black  Snake,  Spilotes  corais 21 

Black  Squirrel,  Sciurus  niger 25 

BlaJr.FTG...! ,  ..    3 

Blanding's  Tortoise 21 

Bluebirds,  Sialia  sialis 44 

Blue  Cat,  Ictalurus  furcatus 21 

Bluegill-Sunfish,  Lepomis  pallidus 20, 21 

Blue  Jays '44 

BlueSunflsh 20,21 

Blue-Winged  Teal,  Querguedula  discors 40 

Borates 47 

Bowls ..  37 


PAGE. 

Brachiopods 35 

Brant,  Branta  bernicla  glaucogastra 41 

Brown  Thrasher,  Toxostoma  rufun 44 

Bryozoans 35 


Buckeyes 48 

Buffalo,  Bos  A  mericanus 20, 32 

Bull  Frog 20 

Buntings,  Passerina 43 

Burrowing  Owl 38 

Butternuts 48 

Buzzard,  Cathartes  Aura  septentrionalis 38 

Cahokia  Mound ...  16 

Calopora 35 

Calcite 47 

Chalcocite 45 

Canada  Goose,  Branta  Canadensis 41 

Canada  Lynx,  Lynx  Canadensis 31 

Canvas  Back  Duck,  Marila  vallisneria 40 

Carbonates 47 

Cardinal,  Cardinalis  cardinalis 43 

Caribou,  Rangifer  caribou 32 

Carnelian 47 

Carp,  German,  Cyprinus  carpio 20 

River,  Carptodes  carpio 20 

Cassiterite 47 

Catalpa 48 

Cat  Fish 21 

Centipede 21 

Cephalopods 35 

Cerrusite 47 

Chabasite 47 

Chalcedony 47 

Chamaeleon 21 

Chambered  Nautilus 35 

Channel  Cat,  Ictalurus  punctatus 21 

Carcharodon 36 

Cherry 48 

Chert 47 

Chestnut 48 

Chickadees,  Penthestes  atricapillus 18 

Chipmunk,  Colorado  (Rock  Squirrel),  Tamias 

quadrivittatus 

..  45 
20,21 
..43 
..  45 
47 
45 
46 

20 


Chloanthite 

Chuckle  Headed  Cat,  Ictalurus  furcatus. 

Chuck-Wills-Widow 

Cinnabar 

Coal. 


Cockatoo.  Leadbeater's,  Cacatua  leadbeateri    . . 

Cock  of  the  Rock,  Rupicola  aurantia 

Cod,  Gadi 


Colorado  Chipmunk  (Rock  Squirrel),  Tamias 
quadrivittatus 

Condor,  Pseudogryphus  Californianus 

Copper 

Corals 35, 

Cormorant,  Double-Crested,  Phalacrocorax  di- 

lophus 

Florida 

Corundum 

Cotinga,  Purple  Breasted.  Cotinga  Caerulea. 
Purple  Throated 


Cottontail  (Grey  Rabbit),  Lepus  Floridanus 

Cougar,  Felis  concolor 

Cowbirds.  Molofhrus  ater 

Coyote,  Canis  latrans 

Crabapple 

Crab,  Fiddler 

Giant 

Crane,  Sandhill,  Grus  Canadensis 


60 
INDEX — Continued. 


PAGE. 

Crinoids 36 

Crook,  A.  R 3 

Crows,  Corvus  Americanus 44 

Cryolite 46 

Cucumber 48 

Curlew,  Numenius  borealis 42 

Cyanite 47 

Cypress 48 

Devil  Fish ...  21 

Diamond 45 

Diamond  Backed  Rattler 21 

Dog  Fish,  Amiacalva 20 

Dog  Shark,  Gallus  canis 21 

Drill  Cores 14 

Duck,  Barrow's  Golden  Eye,  Clangula  islandica  40 

Black,  A  nas  rubripes  tristis 40 

BuffleHead,  Charitonetta  albeola 40 

Canvas  Back,  Marila  vallisneria 40 

Harlequin,  Histrionicus  histrionicus 40 

Old  Squaw,  Harulda  hymenalis 40 

Redhead,  Marila  A  mericana 40 

Ruddy,  Erismatura  Jamaicensis 41 

Scaup,  Marila  affinis 40 

Wood,  Aix  sponsa 41 

Duck  Mole,  Ornithorhyncus  anatinus 22 

Dunne,  Edward  F 3 

Eagles,  Haliaeetus  leucocephalus ...  38 

Eel  Pout,  Lota  maculosa ..          ..  20 

Eggs 41 

Egret,  Ardea  egretta 42 

Elements 45 

Elephas  primigenius 37 

Elk,  Cervus  Canadensis 32 

Elms,  R9Ck 48 

Slippery 48 

Whfte.. ...  48 

Winged 48 

Entrance  Hall 12, 13 

Ethnographical  Collections 37 

Fisher,  Fannie ..    3 

Fisher,  Mustela  Canadensis 28 

Fishes 20 

Fish  Skeletons 20 

Flamingo,  Phoenicopterus  antiquorum 41 

Flickers,  Colaptes  auratus  42 

Flint... ...  47 

Flounder,  Pseudopleuronectes. ..  ...  20 

Fluorite 46 

Flying  Phalanger,  Petaurista  taguanoides 23 

Flying  Squirrel,  Sciuropterus  volans      2i 

Forbes,  S.  A 21 

Fossil  Exhibits 34 

Fossil  Invertebrates 34 

Fossil  Leaves 36 

Fossil  Tracks 37 

Fossil  Vertebrates 36 

Fox  Squirrel,  Sciurus  Niger 25 

Friesser,  Julius 18 

Gad  wall,  Chaulelasmus  streperus 4Q 

Galena 45 

Gallinule,  lonornis  martinica 42 

Garnet 47 

Gars 20 

Garter  Snake 21 

Gas 47 

Gasteropods 35 

Geological  Section 16 

Gold 45 

Gold  Finches,  Spinus  tristis 43 

Goose,  Blue,  Chen  caerulescens 41 

Canada,  Branta  Canadensis 41 

Greater  Snow,  Chen  hyperborea  nivalis. .  41 
Hutchin's,  Branta  Canadensis  hutchinsii  41 

Lesser,  Chen  hyperborea 41 

White  Fronted,  Anser  albifrons  gambeli.  41 

Gothite ...  47 

Graphite 45 

Gray  Pine 49 

Great  Ant  Eater,  Myrmecophaga  jubata 23 


PAGE. 

Great  Horned  Owl  ............................  38 

Grebes,  Colymbus  .............................  40 

Green  Turtle  .................................  34 

Green-  Winged  Teal,  A  nas  Carolinensis  ........  40 

GreyFpx,  Urocion  cinero-argentus  .............  31 

Grey  Pike,  Stizostedion  canadense  griseum  .....  21 

Grey  Rabbits,  Lepus  floridanus  ...............  i  6 

Grey  Squirrel,  Sciurus  carolinensis  ............  25 

Grey  Wolf,  Canis  occidentalis  ..................  31 

Grizzly  Bear,  Ursus  horribilis  .................  30 

Ground  Hog  (Woodchuck),  Marmota  monax..  25 

Grouse,  Dusky,  Dendragapus  obscurus  ........  42 

Ruffed,  Bonasa  umbellus  .............  42 

Sage,  Centrocerus  urophasianus  .......  42 

Sharp-Tailed,  Pediocaetes  phasianellus.  42 

Gulls,  Black-Backed,  Laurus  .................  40 

Herring,  Laurus  .......................  40 

Iceland,  Laurus  ........................  40 

Gum  Tree  ....................................  48 

Gypsum  ......................................  47 


Halite 

Haloids  ....................................  ... 

Harlequin  Snake  ............................. 

Harmotome  .................................. 

Hauyne  ...................................... 

Haw  .......................................... 

Hawk,  Broadwinged,  Buteo  platypterus  ....... 

Ferruginous,  Buteo  ferrugineus  ........ 

Harlan's,  Buteo  borealis  harlani  ........ 

Red  Shouldered,  Buteo  lineatus  ........ 

Red  Tailed,  Buteo  borealis  ...........  38 

Rough  Legged,  A  rchibuteo  ferrugineus  . 

S  wainson's,  Buteo  Swainsoni  .......... 

Heliotrope  .................................... 

Hematite  ..................................... 

Hemlock  ..................................... 

Hen,  Prairie,  Tympanuchus  Americanus  ...... 

Heron,  Great  Blue,  Ardea  herodias 


Green,  Ardea  virescens  ................. 

Snowy,  A  rdea  candidissima  ............ 

Ward's  Ardea  Wardi  .................. 


Hickory,  Big  Shell  Bark 
Shell  Bark 
White  Heart 

Hippopotamus 

Hornaday,  W.  T 

Hornet's  Nest 

Hoyt's  Garter  Snake 

Huckleberry 

Hummingbirds,  Trochilus 

Hydrocarbons 


Ibis,  Glossy,  Plegadis  autumnalis  ..............  42 

Scarlet,  Guara  rubra  .....................  42 

White,  Guara  alba  .......................  42 

Wood,  Tantalus  loculator  ................  42 

Ichthyosaurus  ................................  36 

Illinois  Relief  Map  ............................  33 

Ilmenite  ......................................  47 

Indian  Relics  .................................  37 

Insect  Cases  ..................................  33 

Iron  ..........................................  45 

Ironwood  Tree  ................................  49 


Jack  Rabbit,  Lepus  texanus.. 


Jasper 47 

Johnson,  James 21 

Jumping  mouse,  Zapus  hudsonicus 29 

Juneoerry  Tree 49 

Kayak 13 

Kingbird  of  Paradise 44 

Lake  Herring,  Argyrosomus  artedi 20 

Lake  Trout,  Christivomer  namaycush 20 

Larch  Tree 49 

Large  Mouth  Black  Bass,  Micropterus  salmoides  20 

Leather  Turtle,  A  myda  mutica 21 

Lepidodendrons 36 


61 


INDEX— Continued. 


PAGE. 

er  Bird  of  Paradise 45 

Lime ...  49 


Limonite 47 

Limpkin,  Aramus  gigantcus 42 

Lituites 35 

Locust,  Honey 49 

Yellow 49 

Loons,  Urinator  arcticus 40, 42 

Macaque,  Macaque  macacus 29 

Mahogany  Canoe 13 

Mallards,  A  nas  platyrhynchos 40, 42 

Man-O'- War-Bird,  Fragata  aquila 40 

Maple,  Black 49 

Red 49 

Rock 49 

Swamp 49 

White 49 

Marcasite 45 

Martin,  Progne  subis 28,44 

Mastodon 37 

Meadow  Larks,  Sturnella  neglecta .' 44 

Mellates 47 

Merganser,  American,  Merganser  A  mericanus  .  40 

Hooded,  Lophodytes  cucullatus 40 

Red  Breasted,  Merganser  senator ..  40 

Mica ...  47 

Mice ..  29 

Microline....  47 

Millerite ...  45 

Minerals 45 

Mink,  Putorius  vison 28, 30 

Mole,  Scalopus  aquaticus 27 

Molybdates...  47 

Molybdenite 45 

Monk's  Mound 16 

Mountain  Lion,  Felis  cougar 30 

Mourning  Dove,  Zenaidura  macroura 43 

Mouse,  Jumping,  Zapus  hudsonicus 29 

Mud  Cat,  Leptops  olivaris 21 

Mud  Puppy,  Necturus  maculatus 20 

Mulberry ...  49 

Muscovite 47 

Muskrat,  Fiber  Zibethicus 


Nautilus 35 

Nicollite 45 

Niobates 47 

Norway  Spruce 49 

Ocelot,  Felis  pardalis  ...  ...  31 

Opossum,  Didelphis  virginiana 30, 31 

Opossum,  Alston's,  Calouromys  alstoni 23 

Orpiment 45 

Orthoceras 35 

Orthoclase 47 

Osage  Orange 49 

Osborne,  Bishop  E.  W 21 

Owl,  Acadian,  Glaux  Acadicus 38 

Burrowing,  Speotyto  cunicularia  Jiypogaea  38 

Great  Horned,  Bubo  virginianus 38 

Richardson's,  Glaux  funerea 38 

Screech,  Otus  asio 38 

Short  Eared.  Asio  flammeus 38 

Snowy,  Nyctea  nyctea 38 

Owl  Cases 38 

Oxalates 47 

Oxides 46 

Paddle  Fish  Polydon  spathula 20 

Panther,  Felis  cougar 30 

Paradise,  King  Bird  of 45 

Lesser  Bird  of 45 

Rifle  Bird  of 45 

Paradise  Tree 49 

Paroquet,  Grass,  Conuropus  carolinensis 45 

Partridge 43 

Bob  White,  Colinus  virginianus 43 

California  Mountain,  Oreortyx  pictus.  43 
California  Valley,  Lophortyx  Calif or- 

nicus 43 

Messina,  Cyrtonyx  montezumae 43 

J  Buffed  Grouse,  Bonasa  umbellus 42 


PAGE. 

Passenger  pigeon,  Ectopistes  migratorius 43 

Pawpaw 49 

Peacock,  Pavo  cristatus 45 

Pecan 49 

Peccary,  Tayassu  tajacu 32 

Pelicans,  White,  Pelecanus  erythrorhynchos 40 

Pennsylvania  Hawk  Law 39 

Pepperidge  Tree 49 

Persimmon  Tree 49 

Petroleum 47. 


Phalarope,  Phaloropus  tricolor 4? 

Pheasant,  Argus,  A  rgusianus  giganteus 45 

Blue  Breasted,  Phasianus  versicolor.  45 

Copper,  Phasianus  soemmerringi 45 

Golden,  Thaumalea  picta 45 

Impeyan,  Lophophorus  impeyanus. .  45 
Ring  Necked,  Phasianus  torquatus. .  45 

Silver,  Euplocamus  tnythemereus 45 

Swinhoe,  Phasianus  swinhoeii 45 

Phlogopite 47 

Phosphates 47 

Pigeon,  Passenger,  Ectopistes  migratorius 43 

Pike,  Esoxludus 20,21 

Pilot  Snake,  Coluber  obsoletus 21 

Pine  Snake.  Western,  Pityophis  sayi  var.  Schl. .  21 

Pitchers 37 

Plagioclase 47 

Plan  of  Museum  Rooms 11 

Platinum 45 

Plover 42 

Plummets 37 

Pocket  Gopher 26 

Poles,  Discoverers  of 13 

Poplar 49 

Prairie  Dog,  Cynomys  ludovicianus 24 

Prairie  Hen,  TympanucJius  A  mericanus 42 

Prairie  Mole,  Scalopus  aquaticus 30 

Preface 9 

Proustite 46 

Pteropods 35 

Puma,  Felis  cougar 30 

Pyrargyrite 46 

Pyrite 45 

Pyrolusite 47 

Pyroxene 47 

Pyrrhotite 45,47 

Quartz 46 

Quartzite 47 

Quillback,  Carpiodes  velifer 20 

Rabbit,  Grey  (Cottontail),  Lepus  floridanus. .  26 

Raccoon,  Procyon  lotor 30, 31 

Rail,  Black,  Porzana  jamaicensis 42 

Carolina,  Porzana  Carolina 42 

Virginia,  Rallus  virginianus 42 

Yellow,  Porzana  noveboracensis 42 

Realgar 45 

RedbudTree 49 

Red  Cedar 49 

Red  Fox,  Vulpesfulvus 31 

Red  Horse,  Moxostoma  aureolum 20 

Relief  Map  of  Illinois 33 

Richardson's  Owl 38 

Rifle  Bird  of  Paradise,  Ptilornis  paradisea 45 

River  Carp,  Carpiodes  carpio 20 

Roach,  Mrs.  F.  D 34 

Rock  Bass ,  A  mbloplites  rupestris 21 

Rock  Squirrel  (Chipmunk),   Tamias  quadrivit- 

tatus 23 

Rutile 47 


Sand 47 

Sanderlings,  Calidris  arenaria 42 

Sandhill  Crane,  Grus  canadensis 42 

Sandpiper,  Tringa  maculata 42 

Sassafras  Tree 49 

Saw  Fish 21 

Scoter,  American ,  Oidemia  A  mericana 41 

Velvet,  Oidemia  fusca 41 

Screech  Owl,  Megascops  asio 38 

Seal 33 

Sea  Lilies....                                                  ...  36 


INDEX— Concluded. 


Sewellel,  Aplodontis  rufa 26, 30 

Sharks,  Teeth  of 36 

Shearwaters,  Puffinus 40 

Sheepshead,  A  plodonotus  grunniens 21 

Shells 37 

Short  Eared  Owl,  A  sio  acdpitrinus 38 

Shoveller,  Spatula  dypeata 41 

Siderite ...  47 

Sigillaria 36 

Silicates 47 

Sillimanite ...  47 

Silver 45 

Silver  Mole,  Scalopus  aquaticus  machrinus 27 

Siskins,  Spinus  pinus 43 

Skunk,  Mephitis  mephitis 29 

Smaltite 45 

Smoky  Quartz 47 

Snowy  Owl,  Nyctea  nyctea 38 

Sodahte 47 

Soft  Shelled  Turtle 21 

Sparrows 43 

Sphalerite 45 

Sphene 47 

Spinel.. 47 

Sponges 35 

Spoonbill,  Roseate,  Ajaja  ajaja 42 

Spruce,  Norway 49 

White.. 49 

Squirrel,  Fox,  Sciurus  niger 25 

Squirrel,  Flying,  Sduropterus  volans 25 

Squirrel,  Grey,  Sciurus  Carolinensis  25 

Staurolite 47 

Stevenson,  Lewis  G 

Stibnite 

Stilts 

Sting  Ray 


Sturgeon,  Lake,  Acipenser  rubicundus 

Sucker,  Catostomus  commersonii 


Sulphates 47 

Sulphides 45 

Sulphur  Salts 46 

Sulphur 45 

Sumac 49 

Surface 49 

Swallows 44 

Swan,  Whistling,  Olor  columbianus 41 

Whooping,  Olor  cygnus 41 

Sword  Fish...... 21 

Sycamore 49 

Sylvite 46 

Tanagers 44 

Tantalates 47 

Tarantula 21 

Taylor,  Robert 3 

Teal,  Blue- Winged,  Anas  discors 40 

Green- Winged,  Anas  Carolinensis 40 

Tetrohedrite 46 

Texas  Peccary 32 

Texas  WildCat 31 

Thorn  Tree 49 

Thrasher,  Brown,  Harporhynchus  rufus 43 

Thrush,  Bicknell's,  Turdus  aliciae  Ucknelli. . ..  43 

Hermit,  Turdus  aonalaschkae  pallasii..  43 

Wilson's.  Turdus  fuscescens 43 

Wood,  Turdus  mustelinus 43 


PAGE. 

Tiger  Salamander 20 

Toad 20 

Toothed  Herring,  Hiodon  tergisus 20 

Topaz 47 

Toucan,  Green,  Aulacorhamphus  caeruleigularis  45 

Transparency  Groups 19, 45 

Trees 48, 49, 50 

Trilobites ...  36 


Tulip  Tree 49 

Tupelo  Tree 49 

Turkey 42 

Turns 40 


Umbrella  Tree 49 

Uranates ...  47 


Vireos 44 

Virginia  Deer 18, 30 

Vulture , 38 


Wall  Eyed  Pike,  Stizostedion  vitreum.. . . 

Walnut  Tree 

Warblers 42 

Wapiti,  Cervus  Canadensus 

Weazel  (Ermine),  Putorius  dcognani 


Western  Night  Hawk. 
Whippoorwill,  Antrostomus  vodferus. 
Whip  Ray 

White  Bass,  Roccus  chrysops 


White  Crappie,  Pomoius  annularis 

White  Fish,  Coregonus  dupeiformis 

WildCat 

Wild  Turkey,  Meleagris  gallopavo 

Willet,  Symphemia  semipalmata 42 

Willow,  Peach 49 

Silky 49 

White 49 

Witherite 47 

Woodcock,  Philohela  minor 42 

Wood  Chuck  (Ground  Hog),  Marmota  monax.  25 

Wood  Hare 26 

Woodpecker,  Artie  Three  Toed,  Picoides  arcti- 

cus 42 

Downy,  Dryobates  pubescens 42 

Flickers 42 

Hairy,  Dryobates  villosus 43 

Ivory-Billed,  Campephilus  prind- 

palis 43 

Pfleated,  Ceophloeus  pileatus 43 

Red  Bellied,  M elanerpes  carolinus  42 
Red  Headed,  Melanerpes  erythro- 

cephalus 42 

Sapsucker,  Yellow  Bellied,  Sphy- 

rapicus  varians 42 

Wrens... ...  44 


Yellow  Bass,  Marona  interrupts 21 

Yellow  Bellied  Terrapin,  Pseudemys  troosti 21 

Yellow  Legs,  Totanus  flavipes 42 

Yellow  Perch,  Perca  flavesceno 21 

Zircon...  ...  47 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


SIONmiJOAIISySAiNii 
3H1JO 

Aavaan 


